Sonic Extreme: Season 4
by B. J. Williams
Summary: Continued from Season 3: Sonic gets a revelation about the true state of his father, but while searching he runs into a mysterious new foe. He and the rest of Team Sonic hear about a faction that was long forgotten now reappearing. What secrets does this faction, this new foe, and this situation hold for our heroes to discover? [P3S]
1. A New Adventure

A New Adventure

Uncle Chuck was sitting on a comfy chair after returning from a diplomatic meeting with the United Federation. Then, Sonic came bursting into the room.

"Uncle Chuck. Uncle Chuck." Sonic said.

"What is it, Sonny?" Charles said.

"I went to the oracle of Delphius to ask about my father." He explained. "He stated that he felt my father's essence present in this world." Charles was surprised to hear the news. "He also stated that we will meet face-to-face one day. But that we won't recognize each other at that moment. Isn't this great, Chuck?"

"It is, Sonny." Charles answered smiling.

"I'm going to go find him." Sonic stated.

"Wait, I'm going to get something." The older hedgehog replied. He went away for a little bit. Sometime later, he came back with a box. When he opened it up, all that was inside it was a piece of paper.

"Huh, what's this?" Sonic asked.

"This was a poem that your father wrote." Charles explained. "This paper is the only written copy of the poem trusted to me. He had memorized it and recited the poem on his wedding day as a testament to his love for his bride."

Sonic unfolded the paper and recited the poem aloud:

* * *

 _"Although I have seen many, there is only one I would choose._

 _It is you I would not dare lose._

 _You are the one who makes me smile when I am sad._

 _I am grateful for you and the happiness that we have._

 _If we fall into poverty, I will still be with you.  
_

 _My love for you is completely true.  
_

 _If we enter prosperity, by your side I will be._

 _For no wealth is greater than being with thee._

 _If we are unable to have children, I will still be with you._

 _We are each other's hope when we are blue._

 _If we have many children, I will be with you._

 _And we shall be a loving example for them true._

 _If we fall into sickness, I would be by your side._

 _For those days and trials we can endure as with each other we abide._

 _If we remain healthy, I will be with you._

 _And give the affection and love where its due._

 _If you are called to paradise and I become alone, I will not remarry._

 _Always your dedicated husband, I will ever be._

 _Even if we are far apart from each other, I will still be true…_

 _Because the only one I willingly love…_

 _Is my love that is you."_

* * *

"That's a nice poem he wrote." Sonic answered.

"I want you to have it and keep it." Chuck stated. "It will help you on your quest. Whoever can state that poem by heart without looking at it is your real father."

"Thanks, Chuck." Sonic replied.

"You're welcome and good luck." The older hedgehog replied as Sonic zipped out the door.

Sonic thought that no one would believe his father was alive on any of the mobian islands. Thus he took a transport to the mainland. He arrived at Station Square in the evening. He started looking around the city.

"Hmm, now where can my dad be?" Sonic asked himself. "There isn't a lot of my kind on the mainland. So, it'll be hard to miss." Then, he noticed police cars going by with their sirens blaring and their lights flashing. "What's that about? There's one way to find out." Sonic headed out to follow the police vehicles.

It started to rain when Sonic arrived. The vehicles stopped in front of the city hall; Sonic stayed in the background to see what was up. There were also helicoptors in the air.

"It seems the whole police force is involved, it must be extremely important." The officers were out of the cars and had their guns pulled out. One of them had a megaphone.

"We know you're in there. You're completely surrounded. Come out with your hands up." He stated. Then, came down a blue translucent semi-fluid mass with dark blue eyes appeared. One was able to see his brain. The police were shocked to see this. "Get on the ground now!" The figure didn't move, instead it walked closer. "Don't move or we'll shoot!" The figure ignored the officer's threat. "OPEN FIRE!" The policemen opened fire onto the thing, but the bullets passed right through it with no harm done to the adversary. "It's no good. Fall back." The policemen went backwards to stay out of range of the monster. Sonic rushed right in.

"Hey, what's your problem?" Sonic asked the thing. It didn't respond. "Not much of a talker, huh?" The figure stretched his arm to punch him. The blue blur dodged out of the way. "Oh, you want to fight? This'll be fun." Sonic spindashed into him and the figure was knocked to the ground. He melted down. "I guess you weren't that much of a challenge. But the figure went behind Sonic and punched Sonic.

"Ow." He stated. "Okay, you're a little tougher than most opponents I fought." It swung both its arms around stretched out. Sonic leapt over the arms and did an aerial dash smacking him in the head. A piece of water broke off of him as the hedgehog landed behind him. "How's that?"

The water bit returned to the owner. The being floated in the air and was striking down from above. Sonic zipped away from each of the strikes. He ran up the wall and aerial dashed him knocking the creature to the ground. Turning into a blob, it retreated.

"Where're going, you blob?" Sonic asked pursuing it, but it went down the sewer drain. Sonic just stood there. "What was that thing?" He walked away. "Maybe Sally will know."

Sonic opened up his communicator and was able to get Sally on the other end.

"Sonic, there you are." Sally stated to him.

"Hello, Sal." Sonic stated. "Are things going well with the Mister?"

"Things have been getting smoother since Ray moved in." She replied. "Did you have any luck finding your father?"

"No, I haven't found anyone yet." Sonic stated. "But I did find something unusual."

"What is it?"

"While in Station Square, I encountered a blue semi-solid watery figure with dark blue eyes." Sonic stated.

"Was it possible to see his brain?" a voice asked. Sally turned and they saw the familiar figure of Knuckles the echidna.

"Uh… yeah." Sonic replied.

"Then, that must have been Chaos." Knuckles stated in worry.

"Are you familiar with this being?" Sally asked.

"No, but I did hear about him from Grandpa Athair while he was alive." The echidna explained. "I heard that he was sealed in the Master Emerald back during the Great War for the destruction of my clan. He told me in a dream that Chaos could only escape by the emerald smashing to pieces."

"So, he's now out and about doing who knows what." Sally stated.

"I think he can be imprisoned inside the emerald but it has to be whole before it can be done." Knuckles answered.

"Looks like Team Sonic has to go double time." Sonic added.

"Sonic, you and Tails go deal with Chaos." Sally said to the blue hedgehog. "Knuckles, you and Bunny start finding the pieces of the Master Emerald." She said to the red echidna.

"Got it." Sonic said.

"Consider it done." Knuckles answered. The echidna had left the room.

"Speaking of which, where is Tails?" Sonic asked.

"He's setting up a workshop over by the beach near the Mystic Ruins." The princess said. "He should be getting done by now."

"The Mystic ruins? That's not far from my location." Sonic said. "I'll just hop on a train and head there now."

"You do that, Sally over and out." The princess stated as she got off the communicator. He headed to the train station. He went to the ticket booth.

"One ticket to the Mystic Ruins." Sonic stated.

"Huh, who said that?" the guy at the booth answered.

"I'm down here." The hedgehog added. The guy looked out the window and saw Sonic.

"Oh, sorry no pets allowed on the train."

"Hey, I'm not a pet." Sonic rebuked him. "I'm a hedgehog."

"Same difference." The blue blur was getting pretty upset at this. A line was forming behind the hedgehog.

"I'm a paying customer who would like to get on the train to the Mystic Ruins." Sonic replied. "I would like one ticket."

"I can't break the 'No Pets Allowed' rule. Now, get lost." The guy at the ticket booth stated.

"The train for the Mystic Ruins will soon be departing." An announcer said.

"Look I need to meet up with a friend and I only way I'll get through is the train." Sonic reminded him. "Please, I need a ticket."

"You're making a line, get outta here, scram." The guy at the ticket booth stated. The blue hedgehog noticed there was another ticket booth open with a small line.

"Hey, let him through, asshole." A guy shouted.

"You're talking to Sonic the Hedgehog." A woman stated.

"Wait, you're Sonic the Hedgehog?" the ticket guy asked.

"Yes?" The blue blur stated.

"Well, that changes everything." He said and he pulled out a ticket. "Here you go, one ticket for the Mystic Ruins." He handed the ticket to Sonic.

"Thank you." Sonic replied grudgingly as he took the ticket. He made it to the train before it took off for the destination.

When he leapt off of the train and onto the ground, he looked around for a little bit. He saw Tails workshop on the long ledge shaped like a runway. He walked there and saw Tails working on the Tornado. The fox looked up and saw the hedgehog coming his way.

"Hey Sonic." Tails said.

"Hey buddy." Sonic replied. "Have things been well?"

"It's been fine." The fox answered. "I was upgrading the Tornado."

"We got another problem on our hands." Sonic stated.

"I heard you were coming, so I was able to get something to help out." Tails answered. Then, he pulled it out.

"Hey, that's a chaos emerald." Sonic added in shock.

"Cosmo found it right nearby." Tails answered. "So we will have a head start in dealing with…" ZAP! Tails was paralyzed from electricity. "AHH!"

"Tails, what's wrong?" Sonic asked. ZAP! "Ugh." Sonic was paralyzed as well.

"I will be taking that, thank you." A voice said as a gloved hand took the chaos emerald out of Tails' hand. It was a floating figure in a purple robe and he was holding a golden staff in his hand.

"The emerald…" Tails said.

"HEY, WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!?" Sonic shouted. The person turned around to face them.

"You insignificant worms aren't worthy to know that information." The being stated. "But I have little time to bother with you, I have what I came for." He turned to the distance. "Chaos, I summon you." Then, Chaos had rose from the ground.

"Is that Chaos?" Tails asked.

"Yeah." Sonic added.

"Now, here; it's lunch time." The mobian said as he tossed the emerald to Chaos. There was a flash of light as the creature absorbed the emerald. Chaos was now slightly larger and there was now metal bone inside the creature's left arm.

"What!?" The two looked on in horror.

"Just as I expected." The figure in the purple robe said. "With each chaos emerald you absorb, you will get bigger and more powerful. And when you have all seven emeralds in you, Chaos will be an unstoppable monster at my command." Then, he turned to the two paralyzed mobians. "Not even you could stop him." He paused. "Chaos, you're free to go." Then, the monster left them. "I would just eliminate you here and now, but that would jeopardize my plan. I spend enough time with a bunch of halfwit mobians, the chaos emeralds aren't going to find themselves. Farewell." He teleported out of sight as the two were able to break free from the bind.

"We aren't going to let him get away with this, aren't we Sonic?" Tails asked.

"No way, Tails." Sonic replied. "He's not getting away with anything."


	2. Ultimate Team Up of Ultimate Destiny

Ultimate Team Up of Ultimate Destiny

 _"Good night, Sonic. See you in the morning. Oh and remember not to eat any chili dogs after midnight or you'll have those weird dreams again."_

 _"Don't worry, Tails. I know not to snack before bedtime." Om-nom-nom._

Sonic opened his eyes to a clear blue sky with the sun shining overhead. He felt the warm grass beneath him as a gentle breeze picked up over the hillside.

"Hey, wait a sec. Where am I?" He asked himself, looking around. "The last thing I remember was chowing down on some chili dogs." On the path before him was a red brick pathway dotted with several large green pipes in the air floated strange sections of red bricks with flashing question mark boxes in between them. "Whoa, I think I ate one too many dogs last night." He muttered totally bewildered.

Suddenly, he saw several brown creatures that resembled mushrooms with eyes and fangs walk towards him in a cartoony manner. And then, a strange tune began to play in the background.

"Uh oh, you guys don't look friendly." Sonic raised his hands trying to reason the strange little mushrooms. "Look I don't want any trouble." One of the mushrooms opened its mouth and lunged at him. Sonic readied a spindash when the shadow of a large form came flying in from overhead. The small round shape landed squarely on top of the mushroom, squashing it flat with a weird squeaky sound.

"Hey, thanks for the help but I could have managed it myself." Sonic told the newcomer. The short human turned around to face Sonic revealing a dark haired Italian man with a mustache dressed in red overalls with a blue undershirt, white gloves, and a red cap with the letter "M" on it.

"Hey bambino." The guy said to him, holding out a hand. "How-a you doin' in dese parts, uh?" The newcomer greeted in twirling his mustache with his free hand. "Bada bing bada boom. It's good to see youse again, Sonic."

"Oh, oh it's you. I remember you from that last dream. The one where we all teamed up to take down that giant glove thingy." Sonic stated. "What happened to that crystal chick? She was really hot."

"Youse no be hittin' on McCloud's girl, eh?" He said hitting his chest angerly. "Now, why don't youse come and help me rescue the princess, amseay?"

"Sure thing, I still owe you one for fishing me out of the pool during the games in Beijing." Sonic replied following the plumber as he hopped along the landscape. The two heroes jumped over pits and squashed goombas and koppa troppas. Sonic's spindash knocked one of the turtles clean out of its shell. The hedgehog then picked the shell up and threw it along the ground at several enemies sending them flying. "Hey cool, it's like bowling." He exclaimed as several dead goombas littered the path around him. "See if you can top that one, plumber."

"Eh, youse ain't seen nothin' yet." The guy jumped up and punched one of the question blocks causing a strange looking flower to come out. Picking the plant up and downing it in one gulp. His outfit changed colors to white and red. "I'ma gonna give these guys a hotfoot."

Pointing a finger at several approaching shyguys, he launched dozens of fireballs at the approaching enemies vaporizing them on sight. Sonic hopped on the last one's head knocking it down and standing over the defeated foe.

"Hey, I always wondered why you guys and the snifits wear these masks?" Sonic pulled his white mask off looked at the spot where it was and suddenly looked like he was going to throw up. "On second thought, take this back. You need it way more than I do."

"Oh no, wese got a whole bunch of paratroopas and bloopas comin' our way."

"What a second, are those… turtles with wings and floating squids?" Sonic asked. "Wow, those must have been some really old chili dogs I had last night."

"Don'ta worry, Sonic. Wesa gonna win." The plumber hopped from turtle to turtle knocking off their wings and sending them tumbling into the abyss.

"Hey, what am I supposed to do?" Sonic protested. "I can't fly."

"Hit the question block." The plumber called out. The blue blur jumped up and hit the block causing a strange looking bright red leaf with eyes to come out. Grabbing the leaf and downing it without even thinking, Sonic was suddenly engulfed in a puff of smoke. "Hey, what's happening?" His eyes going wide in horror. "Oh no, it can't be." Looking down, Sonic found his whole body except his face encase in a tanuki suit. "How's this gonna help me fly?"

"Just shake your tail." The plumber replied. Sonic began to wag his tail and ascended into the air. Jumping onto each of the squid's heads, he knocked them out of the sky and sent them crashing to the ground. "Remember only to hit the bloopas on the top of the head, don't touch the sides or bottom."

"THAT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE!" Sonic yelled. "IF THE SIDES AND BOTTOM ARE DEADLY, WHY IS THE TOP SAFE!?"

"Oh, and collecting 50 rings and jumping into a giant floating ring to get an emerald from a drug trip maze makes any more sense?"

On the ground below, a red two-tailed fox and slightly taller version of the plumber dressed in green watched the two heroes taking out the bad guys.

"Wow, I sure wish we were awesome enough to be in this team-up with them." The fox grumbled eating some popcorn out of his bag. "But the goofy sidekicks get to never have any fun."

"Don't worry about it, kid. You get used to it after getting left out of the first three turn-based RPG games." The man in green sighed. "Maybe someday you'll get a spinoff title where you get to be a ghostbuster."

After finishing off the last on the baddies, the plumber and the blue blur jumped at the flagpole bringing the skull shaped flag to the ground and setting off fireworks at the nearby castle. Suddenly, a familiar princess in a pink dress and golden crown came running out and hugged the plumber.

"Oh darling, you saved me." The princess exclaimed planting a kiss on the human's cheek. But it was not the princess Sonic was expecting.

"S-Sally? What the heck are you doing here?" Sonic asked in shock. "He's not even your species."

"Sorry, Sonic." Sally told him with a smile. "But your princess is in another castle."

"And here she comes now." The plumber answered.

"Crikey, it's a handsome boy." Marine the raccoon squealed running at Tanuki Sonic with flailing arms and foaming at the mouth. "It's every fangirls dream come true."

"NO! WAIT! MARINE! It's me, Sonic." The hedgehog ran away hiding in a nearby bush.

"Golly, I have a friend back home named Sonic too." Marine screamed jumping into the bush after Sonic. "But we'll talk about that later. It's time to make some little wallabies."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Sonic wailed as hearts exploded out from the bush as Marine carried out her desires.

 _Suddenly, Sonic's eyes burst open as he sat up in bed screaming. "PLEASE NOT THAT!" He yelled at the dawn light coming through his window. "PLEASE ANYTHING BUT THAT!"_

 _"Sonic, are you alright? I was downstairs making breakfast." A concerned Amy asked walking into his room. "Oh no, did you have that dumb nightmare again?"_

 _"Yes… only this time Marine caught up to me and… Ugh."_

 _"Oh Sonic, when will you ever learn?" Amy Rose sighed. "How many times have I told you not to binge on chili dogs and stay up all night playing Super Marxio Brothers on the Playtendo?"_


	3. Enter the Pumpkin Hill

Enter the Pumpkin Hill

Amy Rose was heading around Station Square on a shopping spree. She was carrying a few bags with her. One of the things she got was a watch that had the time and date on it. She sighed as she was in the evening sun.

"Sonic's away for a week." Amy stated. "There's not going to be a lot of stuff going on. I bet I'll be able to do something to do other than shopping." Then at that moment, something hit her and she fell to the ground. "Hey, watch where you're going. Huh?" She noticed a light blue flicky on the ground. "Are you okay?" She picked him up. "It looks like your hurt."

"Give me the flicky." She heard a voice behind him. She turned around and saw a bird mobian behind her. She saw it was Fukurokov. "Hand me the bird now."

"Why do you want the bird so much? Can you see he's hurt?" Amy replied back to him. "Besides, you really need to take a bath. You reek!"

"I've told you once and I will tell you again. GIVE ME THE BIRD!" He shouted as he rushed towards her. Amy took the flicky and ran away from him. She turned into an alley in order to evade him. He was able to find her. "I'm only here for the flicky. If you don't give him to me…" He stepped into the shadow and it revealed a half-decayed corpse with a missing eye and his intestines drooping out of his gut. "I'm going to kill you."

Amy was shocked when she had saw this. She pulled out her hammer and slammed it on his head. He fell over and was stunned. She bolted out of the alley and headed into a nearby café. Fukurokov got back up and went to the café. He looked inside the windows trying to find Amy and the flicky. She was hiding under a table from one of the booths; then the bird left the café.

"That was close." Amy stated to the little bird. "Are you okay, little birdy?" The flicky chirped with affirmation. "I can't believe there is an undead trying to capture you. If that's the case, there has to be a necromancer. In any case, I have to get you out of here." Amy got from under the table. "Maybe, I could take you to Tail's place. He'll know what to do."

The pink hedgehog tried to get to the Mystic Ruins but noticed that the train is out of order, thus she tried to go there on foot. She was caught halfway to Tail's workshop when nightfall came and thus had made a campfire where she and the flicky was at.

"Oh man, we're stuck here." Amy stated. "I'm sorry that I dragged you out here. I just hope it doesn't get any worse."

Just then, she heard flapping of wings. But instead of the normal flapping sound, it was swishing that she heard. Amy gasped and almost turned pale from fear as the swishing got louder and louder. She pulled out her hammer and gripped on it tightly; Amy looked around desperately trying to find the source of the swishing sound. She heard a cawing sound as it got really close and the campfire went completely out. Amy Rose was completely paralyzed from terror and was trembling in her shoes and the swishing came to stop.

"Amy Rose, I presume." A very calm voice stated. Then, a mobian stepped into Amy's sight. It was a bird wearing a block flowing cloak. He was had a chain twice wrapped around his chest under the cloak and was dragging a large scythe.

"A raven." She said. "Why are you here?"

"I have come to discuss something with you." The raven answered showing no emotion in his voice, staying completely calm.

"What does a harbinger of death want to do with me?" She replied. "I'm too young to die."

"I am not here to discuss about your life. You and most of your friends have long lives ahead of you." The raven replied. "But I have come to you do to something urgent."

"Speak then, Mr. Raven. Why have you come?" Amy asked.

"The balance of nature is in danger." He explained. "For someone seeks its destruction."

"Who?"

"Mammoth Mogul." He answered. Amy was shocked.

"What? How is that possible? My friends and I saw him turn to dust." Amy rebuked him. "He shouldn't be roaming."

"He turned himself into a lich using diabolical magic in ages past to extend his life unnaturally long to infinity." The raven explained. "As long as his soul vial is intact, he can't be permanently killed."

"Why would he do such a thing?"

"Mammoth Mogul was a very wicked mobian in his day. He also knows that if he dies, he will be cast into the fire." He said. "You are the closest one to his lair. You must go and stop him."

"What is he going to do?" Amy asked him. The raven paused messing with the blade on his scythe. Then, he turned to the flicky.

"The flicky that you are with, he is no ordinary flicky." The apathetic raven stated. "He is one of the four Flickies of Life."

"Flickies of Life?" She asked. "I've never heard of that before."

"They are four flickies with great power within them. Just one of their feathers can make a potent medicine." He said. "But when all four of them are in the possession of an individual, it can grant them massive amounts of power. We don't want that to happen; I ask you to go and stop him for the ravens aren't able to lay a talon on him."

"Alright," Amy sighed. "Where is the mammoth?"

"His lair is in Pumpkin Hill." The raven said. "I shall make a trail for you to find it." Then, the raven struck the ground with his scythe and a trail of candles formed on the ground. "Just follow the candles' light."

"What about Birdy?" Amy asked.

"I will take care of the flicky." The Raven said, picking up the little flicky. "You need to free the others. Be quick about it yet be careful for Mogul and his minions are able to assert their will upon you. Good luck." The raven flew away leaving her and the candles.

"Well, here we go." She said as she went down the trail.

Amy continued until there were no more candles. She went through the rusted Iron Gate to enter Pumpkin Hill. The ground was completely barren and devoid of any life. The trees in the area were dead as well. There were spires that poked out of the ground, each one having a head that was shaped like a pumpkin. Each head had a distorted face on it. The area refused to let the moonlight in.

"This is a very creepy place." She said to herself. "Where would the flickies be?" She walked looking around in the fog-filled valley. Amy noticed amongst the dark aura surrounding the place a few auras that didn't match the place. "Light Auras? Could those be the other Flickies of Life? On those three peaks?" As she headed to the first peak, Mammoth Mogul noticed Amy's presence in the crystal in the center of the alter room of his lair.

"So, the pink hedgehog has come to my dominion." Mogul stated. "Has she come to save the flickies? If so, I'll send my undead minions to stop her." He sent a green bolt of demonic energy out to the peaks.

As she reached the first peak, she encountered zombies amongst the pumpkins. They walked slowly towards her and Amy pulled her hammer out. She swung the hammer around and knocked them over. She looked around and found the first of the Flickies of Life in a cage.

"I'm coming for you." She said to it as she approached it. She noticed that there was a padlock on the cage. She paused and psychically charged her hammer. She swung it and broke the lock open. Amy opened the cage. "Fly free little birdy." And the first of the flickies left. "On to the next one."

"Hmm…" Mammoth Mogul said. "It seems I have underestimated her skills. However, she will not be able to defeat me." He continued to watch the young hedgehog head to a second peak. "She is going to the tombstone peak next. I'll send my specters over to greet her."

Amy Rose made it up to the second of the peaks. She noticed there were plenty of gravestones on this rock. Then, she heard the sound of a whistle.

"What's that sound?" She asked. She turned and a train came out of the rock behind her. "Whoa!" She ran from the train that was pursuing her until she jumped to a level lower than she was at earlier. Then, the train left her by re-entering into the solid stone. She got back up to the level again. Amy looked around and found lots of gravestones. She approached one.

A black shadowy mass came out from behind the grave. The mass advanced towards her and hit her. The shadow touched her and changed its form to replicate Amy Rose. It also made a copy of her pico pico hammer. The shade slammed its hammer down and Amy dodged out of the way. Amy pulled her hammer out and was able to block another blow from the shadow's hammer.

Amy dodged out of the way of the shade's third swing. She swung her hammer down to boost herself into the air, charged up her hammer, and slammed it down on the shade. The shadow broke apart and fled.

"That'll teach you to mess with me." Amy stated to the fleeing black mass. "No Shadow Amy is going to beat me." She found the second Flicky of Life in a cage in a nearby mausoleum; she was able to break the cage open and set the bird free. "Great. Two down, one to go." She left the mausoleum. "Time to get to that third peak."

"BLAST!" Mammoth Mogul shouted. "She is getting in the way of my plan. I need those flickies to completely restore myself to my glory and grant me dominion over life and death."

He grabbed a jar off of the shelf; there was a glowing flame inside of it. Mogul stuck his trunk into the jar and took a huge sniff. As he sniffed, a loud scream of agony was heard from the flame itself. The necromancer closed the lid and put the jar back on the shelf.

"Now, let's see where our little hedgehog is." Mogul stated. He watched as Amy Rose as she dodged the flames being shot out of skull like structures. "With her abilities, I could become a more powerful lich." He paused. "I'll send in my wight to get her."

Amy made it to the third peak. She looked at it and the cave and the area around it looked like a church and cemetery.

"What in the world?" She said. "I don't know what this is, but the flicky is just inside the building." The pink hedgehog went inside and found the third flicky on the alter struggling to get out of its bindings. Amy tried to go up to it, but she was knocked to the side by an undead that was more ripped. She was able to get it in a deadlock with her hammer. It stuck a proboscis tongue out of its mouth. She knocked him to the side. "You're one of those undead. There's no way that tongue getting in my mouth."

The wight charged towards her and she dodged it; she tripped it using her hammer and smashed the hammer on its head after it fell finishing him off. She noticed the pico pico was covered in blood from all the fighting.

"I better clean the blood off." Amy stated. She, then, turned to the last flicky and freed it from its bonds. She left the church peak with the last flicky; she almost reached the exit to Pumpkin Hill when Fukurokov blocked her path.

"There is no way that I'm going to let you escape from my master's dominion." Fukurokov stated to her. Then, he started to echo a monotone sound from his feathers.

"It's you again." Amy stated, bringing up her hammer.

"I'll stop you from leaving Pumpkin Hill with the flicky." Fukurokov stated as he fixed his eyes at Amy's.

"Well, why are you so loyal to him anyways? You barely know the lich."

"In the past, he was a stranger." Fukurokov explained. "But now, he is a friend."

"How can he be a friend to you?" Amy continued.

"I was revived after being killed by Solaris." Fukurokov stated. "Now, I can continue my existence thanks to him. I can live as long as a redwood tree and I have been granted gifts that I never had under the Great Battle Kukku. Isn't that generous for someone who is claimed to be wicked?"

"It would seem that way." Amy replied.

"And if he was generous to me, I'm sure he will be generous to others as well." Fukurokov replied. "So, there is no need to be hostile towards me and Mammoth Mogul. You can just relax." Amy started to slouch a little bit. "You don't need to have your hammer out like you do." Then, the pink hedgehog dropped her hammer. "Just think about how you can benefit from Mogul and how he can also benefit your friends as well." Fukurokov had reached back behind him to pull out a dagger. The flicky came down onto Amy and bit her ear.

"Ow." Amy stated. She realized that there was hypnosis going on. She looked and saw Fukurokov lunge at her. She grabbed her hammer and dodged out of the way of his attack. As he turned around, Amy smashed his head knocking him out. "Let's get out of here." Then, Amy Rose and the last flicky escaped from Pumpkin Hill.

"So, you have escaped hedgehog." Mammoth Mogul stated from his lair. "You might have won this time, but you will fall at my hands next time."

Amy Rose came across the raven she saw earlier as she brought the three flickies to him like he had asked her to do.

"Well done, Amy. I am impressed and pleased." The raven stated. "I'm glad that you were able to overcome the trials."

"But if the flicky didn't bite me when I was vulnerable, I would have been dead." Amy stated.

"In the end, you were able to break free and thus was able to escape." The raven replied. "Now, the balance of life and death is spared. Thanks to you." Then, he flew away.

"Well, it's time for me to head to Tail's workshop." She stated to herself.

Then, she arrived at the Mystic Ruins close to Tail's workshop. She noticed that the door was locked after trying to open it up.

"Tails and Cosmo must be away." She thought to herself. "What if I look around?" She went around the area around the workshop. She went up to the waterfall and down at the pond; she noticed Sonic was down there. Amy went down towards him sensing fear and pain.

Meanwhile, Sonic was looking into the water. He looked like he was about ready to cry. He clenched his fist together.

"Damn it!" Sonic said to himself. "I can't believe that she is gone. I wish I could see her again. Even if just to be with her again."

"Sonic, why are you crying?" a voice asked.

"Huh?" Sonic stated. "Could it be?" He turned around and found Amy Rose standing before him. "A-Amy?"

"Yeah, Sonic. My name is Amy Rose." She answered. Sonic started to cry.

"AMY!" Sonic stated as he went to embrace her in his arms. "You don't know how happy I am to see you again."

"Uh, yeah." Amy said as she smiled, hugging him as well.

"Just where have you been for the past two weeks?" Sonic asked.

"What!?" She asked in shock. "What do you mean two weeks!?"

"We tried to contact you on the communicator and you never responded. It's like you have completely disappeared off the face of Mobius." He stated.

"I had to rescue some flickies, but it only took me a few hours." Amy said. "How could it have been two weeks? Never mind, I'll ask Tails when he comes back."

After a while, Tails did come back. She explained everything that has happened to the two of them and even showed them the evidence she has.

"From what I can tell, it seems that she has been gone for two weeks and a few hours at the same time." Tails explained. "I'm not an expert on this subject, but I have a reason to believe that this Pumpkin Hill place Amy was in has different rules when it comes to space-time."

"Meaning?" Sonic asked.

"Time moves slower in Pumpkin Hill than the rest of Mobius." Tails concluded. "How and why this the case is beyond me."

"This is starting to remind me of an episode of the Twilight Zone." Sonic commented.

"So, what exactly happened while I was away?" Amy asked in curiousity.

"Well…" Sonic stated. Then, he explained to her what had happened in the last two weeks.


	4. A Guilty Conscience: Pt 1

A Guilty Conscience: Pt 1

As the storm clouds rolled over the skies of Soleanna, he could only look out the window of the royal palace in uncertainty. He had done the right thing, had he made the right choice. It had been almost several decades now and it was a parliament hall thousands of miles from here. He had been so young and had only wanted to please his father the king. For such a young hedgehog to make a bold political statement in front of the entire council had broken all tradition.

 _"Nobles of South Island, it is a matter of great importance that we debate on the senate floor today. This law could revolutionize the lives of thousands of mobians and you my good nobles will go down in history as the Parliament session that made those changes." He stated as he watched the eyes of his audience carefully._

 _Many of senators on the left and peers on the right whispered among themselves, clearly talking favor of the bill's passage. If things went his way, the bill would get through the senate without any trouble and the house of peers would probably vote it on through catching some silly caps amendment on to prove they still had power._

 _The hedgehog prince smiled returning to his feet and smugly taking a bite of his chili dog. He was confident that Parliament would send this bill on for the king to sign into law and he would finally make his father proud..._

"Sir Charles?" Somebody behind him spoke up.

As he snapped back into the present, Sir Charles Hedgehog turned to face the young princess behind him.

"Yes, Sally, what is it?"

"The jet is ready to take you and Sonic back to South Island. Your sister-in-law is eager to see you again."

"Thank you, princess." Charles bowed. "I promise Sonic and I will be back in about a week." And as the princess left him alone again. Uncle Chuck hoped he would get the chance to right an old wrong.

* * *

"So let me get this straight, Unc." Sonic said in disbelief. "We're going back home for a visit, so you can get a tax law repealed?"

"It's a little more important than that, Sonny." Sir Charles replied looking out the window of the royal private jet liner Sally had let them borrow. "This law was one of the biggest mistakes I made when I was a young whippersnapper. I was trying to make things better for my subjects but I ended up dropping the scepter."

"Don't you mean dropping the ball, unc?" Sonic asked.

"That's right, Sonny. It was one of the worst mistakes of my life." The old hedgehog stroked his mustache. "You see Sonny, when I was on the senate, I kept hearing the merchants of South Island complaining that taxes were too high, that they kept telling me if they didn't have to pay so much in taxes, they could afford to hire more workers." Uncle Chuck looked out the window. "This made a lot of sense to me at the time. If I could lower taxes for the business owners, then business could grow and create more jobs."

"Makes sense to me." Sonic replied, taking a bite out of his chili dog and leering at the shapely possum girl stewardess. "So, what went wrong?"

"Well, there were two problems." Chuck replied. "First, the business owners didn't keep their end of the bargain. When the taxes were removed, they simply hired cheaper labor by moving their factories to Down Under." Charles buried his face in his hands. "The second problem was the lost tax revenue had to come from somewhere else. So, the parliament passed a new tax law for the middle/lower classes that passed even over my veto. After that, I dissolved parliament in a rage, but it was too late; the law had already passed and none of South Island's rich would support its repeal."

"Wow." Sonic stated. "So, that's why you gave up the throne to my dad and left to be a knight in the Acorn Court at West Side Island." Sonic nodded finally understanding. "Do you really think you'll be able to convince them to change the laws now after all these years?"

"I'm hoping I can appeal to their compassion considering everything that's happened in the last few decades." Uncle Chuck looked back up at Sonic. "The common people have suffered enough during the wars and Robotnik's rule. Maybe there is some kindness in their greedy hearts."

As the plane touched down at Starlight City airport, hundreds of reporters and photographers from all over South Island gathered to greet the returning hometown hero.

"Prince Sonic, have you come home to take the throne from your mother?" a reporter asked. "And if so, will there be a succession crisis?"

"Sonic, Prince Sonic, is there any truth to the rumor that you are having a love affair with a fortune teller from the Little Planet?" Another reporter asked. "Could we be expecting little blue and pink royal babies soon?"

"Sir Charles, is it true that you were secretly married to Princess Diamond of Chun-nin?" A third asked in succession.

"Whoa, unc. I think the paperaeizzi is putting the squeeze on us." Sonic grabbed Chuck's arm. "Juice and Jam time." The blue blur zoomed down the ram knocking over several reporters as he raced towards the royal limo he saw near the parking garage. "Looks like mom had a ride ready for us. I can't wait to get to the palace and see her and sis again."

The two hopped into the opened door of the limo and quickly pulled it shut as reporters foaming at the mouth swarmed over the car.

"Sonny, they're going to tip it over." Uncle Chuck said in a worried tone.

"Don't worry, Uncle Charles. Mom and I are used to dealing with this." A feminine voice coming from the seat across from them. A violet hedgehog smiled at the two as she pushed a button on the car door and talked into a speaker to the front of the car.

"Argus, would you be a dear and activate the car's helicopter mode?" She asked.

"Yes, Miss Sonia." A deep voice replied from the front. Suddenly, a helicopter blade popped out of the sunroof and the car lifted off the ground. Several of the reporters tried to hang on as the limo went airbourne. But the last of them, finally slide off as they passed over Starlight Lake.

"My my, I hope those boys enjoyed their swim." Sonia replied with a giggle. "You should have seen the trouble I had getting rid of them at my sweet sixteen party."

"Sonia, so good to see you again." Sonic hugged his sister. "How are you and mom doing?"

"Oh, you know how it is. Give a speech here, kiss the baby there, break a bottle of champagne over a new ocean liner somewhere else. Same old, same old." She waved a hand dismissively. "So, how's that old saving the world thing going for you? Seems like a really boring hooby if you ask me."

"You have no idea. Everyday I'm out there risking my life against mad scientists, fanatical bird armies, and evil sorcerers hellbent on destroying the world." Sonic grumbled. "I know it's not as thrilling as powdering your nose and going to cocktail parties; but somebody has to fight the bad guys, right?"

"But of course, Sonic, of course." She replied soothingly. "Sorry to have ruffled your quills, darling. Uncle Charles, I've heard through the gossip line that you've come back to get the employers tax break act repealed."

"That's right, missy. It's time to undo the biggest mistake I ever made when I was king." Charles answered. "I'm gonna get those rich fat cats to throw that law in the garbage can."

"Oh uncle, when you talk like that, you almost sound like common street trash." Sonia told him jokingly. "Mother will be so amused with your weak, quaint, rustic charm."

"So sis, where is that little creep of a brother of ours?" Sonic asked her rolling his eyes. "I can't believe he didn't come with you to greet us."

"Oh, you know Manic. Probably at some tattoo parlor or gambling den blowing all of the royal allowance mother gives him." She shook her head. "Either that or getting drunk off his hind end before heading off for a good time in the red light district."

"It's a shame your brother is such a juvenile delinquent." Uncle Chuck sighed. "Especially since you and Sonny here turned out so well."

"Oh don't worry about it, Uncle Charles. Manic will probably show up at his own good time to say hello." At that moment, the car landed in the castle courtyard. "Oh look, Argus has gotten us home and there's mother now."

Suddenly, Sonic and his uncle's breath were taken away. Standing taller than all three of them, regal and elegantly beautiful, Queen Aleema Hedgehog was one of the most graceful mobians who ever walked the face of the Earth.

The air seemed to stand still as she walked towards them, the only sound was the clicking of her high heels on the pavement and the rustling of her long white gown against the ground. Sunlight seemed to reflect off her hair and crown as if she was some kind of saint or angel that had stepped out of one of the holy paintings of the ancient world. Every mobian not of the royal family bowed as this magnificent creature approached and held out her glowed hand to Uncle Chuck.

"Sir Charles, so good to see you again." She smiled at the dumbstruck gold hedgehog. "You really should visit the family more often."

"Aleema, dear sister-in-law, it is so good to see you again." He kneeled, kissing her hand. "My brother was a fool to run off and disappear with such a perfect queen waiting for him back home."

"And hello, young Sonic, it is so good to see my eldest son once again."

"Hehe, hey mom." Sonic replied scratching the back of his neck. "How's things been going?"

"Not as well as I'd like, I fear." The queen replied, sahking her head sadly. "But that is talk for after dinner. Why don't we all go inside and get warm by the hearth?" The other three nodded their heads in agreement as they all flocked inside the palace.

* * *

"Higher, a little higher on my arm, dammit!" The angry green hedgehog told the tattoo artist in between puffs on his cigarette. "I don't want that naked tattoo of Princess Sally so low on my arm that my bro can see it. He'd freaking kill me."

The tattoo parlor was a smoke-filled room in the basement of an old bar on the poor side of town; a place that in the words of a famous knight and philosopher, 'a wretched hive of scum and villainy'. All around Prince Manic were the lowest members of South Island society: the poor, the downtrodden, the ones who couldn't afford to keep a roof over their heads. They were here to make all of their pain go away through the lighting of a joint or the sting of a needle.

"What are you doing down here, kid?" the tattoo artist asked him, handling the needle in one of his mandibles. "A good little prince like you has no business being down here with a dirt eating roach like me."

"Shut up, Feral. You're better than half the stuck-up clods my mom and sister spend time with." Manic answered. "Besides, I have no desire to go home and have ma chew me out over my bad lifestyle."

"Well, you might wanna head home, kid." Feral offered. "Cause, word on the street is your big bro is in town and he might be lookin' to take back the crown. Why else would the crown prince come home after years of being away?"

"You really think Sonic would leave West Side to come back to this dump?" Manic sat up with his tattoo drying. "Why in the ancient walker's name would he leave behind a paradise where he's a hero and he has a beautiful princess to sc%$#?"

"Well, I still think you should head home and check it out." Feral added; he took Manic's money and pointed towards the door. "Family always comes first, no matter how much we can't stand 'em. Believe me, I know. I've got four hundred seventy six mouths to feed."

"Just what I wanted to go home and listen to my sister whine about a broken nail." Standing up, the green hedgehog stormed out of the tattoo parlor in disgust. "Later, Feral. See ya around sometime next month. Oh, and I want the skull and crossbones next time."

* * *

Meanwhile back at the palace, the royal family had just finished supper when Sonic brought up the reason they had come in the first place.

"So, mom, unc… How exactly are you gonna convince the Parliament to pass a law that basically punches them in the teeth?" Sonic asked.

"Well, Sonny. I plan to appeal to their better natures." Charles replied. "There were quite a few honorable nobles who cared more about virtue than profit in my day."

"Charles, you give these spoiled rich infants far too much credit. Remember these are the same nobles who supported Robotnik's regime to protect their own fortunes." The queen said.

"Besides, some of the minor nobility has money tied up in the big corporations." Sonia commented. "Even if the wealthier nobles support your cause, those greedy bloodsuckers won't let you change any laws that could hurt them."

"Well then sis, we're just going to have to show those jerks the error of their ways." Sonic replied, pounding his fist into his palm.

"Oh Sonic, so much like your father." Queen Aleema laughed. "If you were on the throne, South Island wouldn't go five minutes without having war declared."

* * *

"Lord Bartleby, your five thirty's here to see you." A voice on the intercom stated to him.

"Very good." He answered. "Send him in."

The door to Bartley's office swung open revealing an expensive looking carpet and furniture. Books lined every shelf that were too intelligent for the snooty noble who owned them to read. The rich lord was seated behind a polished walnut desk. The figure in the doorway walked towards the well-groomed terrier.

"I say, you do have a habit of showing up rather late." The lord continued, filing his nails. "Is it because you're a brute ruffian or does it run in your family?"

"I don't know. You tell me." The green hedgehog replied. "You are the one who spent two years sleeping with my sister."

"Never mind that, you dolt." Bart snapped back. "I have a job for you and I'm sure I can pay far better than that tiny little allowance mommy dearest gives you to live on."

"Sounds cool. What do you want me to do?" Manic pulled out a small knife handle, pressing a button that flipped it open into a switchblade. "Some pesky ex-lover among the rich who needs her throat slit?"

"No, nothing that barbaric… at least for now." Bart began to pace the room. "Your little family is trying to have the rich man's tax relief law repealed. I want you to put a stop to their efforts and make sure Sir Charles never speaks before the House of Peers."

"Oh, this involves family." Manic grinned. "Well, that's going to cost you extra. Don't worry, Bartlebrains. I'll stop my crazy old uncle from ruining your tax law but there is just one thing."

"Oh…" Bartley asked, leaning against the tall window in the back of his office. "And what would that be?"

Suddenly, Manic threw the knife straight at Bartleby's head, burying it into the wood just inches from the top of his skull.

"I do this my way; no extra goons to hurt them; no revenge plots on Sonia for dumping you. And above all, YOU. DON'T. DARE. TOUCH. MY. MOTHER!" Manic walked up to the still shaking Bartleby leaning in close to his face as he pulled his knife out of the wall and held it up to the nobleman's throat. "Don't lay a finger on any of them, if you wanna keep your fingers."

The rich aristocrat only stared in silence as the angry hedgehog stormed out of his office…


	5. A Guilty Conscience: Pt 2

A Guilty Conscience: Pt 2

"I have great news, Charles." The queen told him as the two walked through the royal gardens. "Parliament has agreed to hear your plea for the tax repeal at tomorrow's session. I just couldn't wait to tell you the great news."

"Thank you, Aleema. You don't know how much this means to me." Chuck looked up at the clouds rolling on by. "Finally, after all this time, I can undo the horrible mistake I brought on the common people of South Island."

"But Uncle Charles, if you hate the tax you passed so much, why didn't you just get rid of it once and for all. Grandpa died and you inherited the throne." Sonia asked him, fanning herself from the warm sun.

"Because Sonia, I was much younger and much more naïve than I am now." He shook his head. "During my brief reign, I was too proud to see the consequences of what I had done. It was only after I abdicated in favor of your father that I began to see the suffering of the people."

"Gee, I'm kinda surprised, Unc." A voice from the edge of the garden called out as a familiar green form stepped through the entrance archway. "It's not often that a hedgehog born with a silver spoon in his mouth admits he made a royal mistake."

"What a sec, Manic is that you?" Sonia asked, her eyes going wide in disbelief. "I can't believe you're here at the castle for once."

"Oh Manic," Aleema cried out, running up and giving her wayward son a hug. "I'm so happy that you came back. Why don't you come in and have a bite to eat?"

"Hey, mom." The green hedgehog smiled, hugging her back. "It's good to see you again too."

"Well, well, well, the prodigal jerk returns." Sonic grumbled walking in from the other side of the gardens and rubbing his nose with his finger. "I thought I smelled your rotten hide when I came downstairs. The only thing that smells worse is the Knothole bathroom after Knuckles has had two or three spicy chili dogs."

"Oh, if it isn't his royal hero hein-ness. If I knew you were here, I would have practiced my curtsey." Manic answered back, pulling his lower right eye lid down and sticking his tongue out. "What's the matter, not enough West Siders asking for your autograph? Too quiet in Soleanna, so you had to come home and bum off of mom?"

"I don't know, leech-hog. That seems more your style." Sonic growled getting up in his brother's face. "Did you come back to ask mom for some more money? I know it probably costs more than your allowance to get shot up on a good hit."

"Hey you jerk, I don't take that stuff." Manic spat back through clenched teeth. "If you have to know, I just came back to cheer Uncle Chuck on with his attempt to change the law." Manic looked over the rest of his family. "It's actually nice to see somebody in the royal household doing something to help our subjects rather than sitting on their royal butts and enjoying luxury."

"Both of you, please stop it." Queen Aleema order her two sons walking up behind them and smacking them on the back of their heads. "Would the two of you please stop acting like spoiled infants fighting over a toy and try to behave like gentlemen in front of your sister and I?"

"Sorry, mom. I know I should stop in and say 'hi' more often." Manic told her, a smile on his face. Walking over, he gave Sonia a hug as well. "It's very good to see you too, sis."

"Hey, at least you're not trying to steal the contents of my purse this time." Sonia said with a laugh as she embraced her brother.

"Manic, I trust you about as far as I can throw Big the Cat and he's the fattest mobian I know." Sonic pointed a finger right in his male sibling's face. "I won't say anything for mom's sake, but if you so much as blink the wrong way at her, me, Sonia, or Uncle Chuck; I'll twist that ugly head of yours around so far, you'll have to walk and eat backwards."

"Geez, give me a break Sonic." Manic replied, angrily as he stormed out of the garden. "You make it sound like I would sell my own family down the river for five thousand mobiums." He disappeared out of the garden gate. "If anybody needs me, I'll be in my old room listening to Skynyrd and reading my old PlayMobian magazines."

"My oh my, that lad will never grow up, will he?" Sir Charles asked, watching his youngest nephew go.

"Oh Charles, you need to be patient with him." Aleema replied, sadly. Looking away from the spot where her angriest child had been standing. "Manic has had a much rougher life than either of his siblings. I am just happy sometimes that he managed to survive and come home at all."

* * *

"So let me get this straight," a fat man on the monitor asked him. "You managed to get that green brat to sell out his family for twenty thousand mobiums?"

"That is correct, Doctor." Bartleby stated smugly, leaning back in his chair. "And once Sir Charles meets with an unfortunate accident right before the hearing tomorrow, the Parliament members will, of course, want to beef up security and restrictions against the lower classes civil rights."

"And that means, they'll need security and defense contracts. Contracts that shall be provided by Robotnik Industries, of course." Eggman replied. "With the support of you and the other nobles, I shall restore my family's power in South Island to what it was during my uncle's regime." Eggman stroked his mustache. "But are you certain that Manic will turn on his beloved uncle?"

"Oh, I'm pretty sure he's going to try to distract his uncle from the hearing without killing him." Bartleby offhandedly, filing his nails as he looked bored. "And if he fails or loses his nerve, I always have a backup plan."

"See, that you do, Bartleby." Eggman's tone grew darker. "Because if you fail me, I believe I can manage to get my Julian's robotisizer to work one more time."

"A-as you wish, sir." Bartleby replied, his whole body shaking in fear. "Don't worry, Old man Hedgehog will be grounded up quills by tomorrow morning. You can be sure of that."

* * *

The Grand Council chamber of South Island was a magnificent sight. A large columned building with a central dome. The magnificent structure was decorated with painting and frecoes depicting the history of South Island. In the Parliament Hall, a statue of Amunrapi, the founder of the Hedgehog Dynasty, presided over the center of the chamber between the two seating areas. From the two houses of Parliament on either side shouts and catcalls carried across the room at both angry factions.

"You spoiled nobles just want to tax us to death. If you want to increase revenue, why don't you take the money out of your own pockets!?"

"BAH! You merchants are far too greedy and corrupt. Our fortunes go into the charities that feed the poor and hungry and we maintain the great museums, hospitals, schools, and temples that all South Islanders may visit for free."

"You don't want to pay any taxes and leave the burden on the workers who slave away in your stores and factories."

"You filthy rich nobles are standing in the way of progress. Taxes on our industry would only hurt business growth."

As both sides continued to argue back and forth, an aged hedgehog with a mustache stepped into the center of the Parliament Hall floor and raised both his arms.

"Enough!" He roared. "This foolish bickering has gotten us nowhere. I've come back home to South Island to write an old wrong I started here. If you will only lend me your ears, I shall tell you all of the suffering and plight of our people."

Up in the royal box, Queen Aleema watched the proceedings from her throne while Sonia sat on a cushioned seat beside her.

"Look at them all arguing, mother. Like a bunch of spoiled children." Sonia stated, shaking her head. "Do you really think Uncle Charles will be able to get through to them?"

"If he has enough time to speak, Charles will be able to convince them to do anything." Aleema put her hand on her chin thoughtfully. "I only hope that Sonic is able to keep your youngest brother distracted until Charles is done speaking."

Far away in a tavern on the west side of Starlight City, two hedgehogs sat down at a table and ordered two chili dogs.

"All right, bro. I appreciate you buying me lunch and all, but I still wanna know why you brought me here." Manic asked drumming his fingers on the table. "What is it that you wanted to talk about so badly?"

"Oh, you know… I just wanted to catch up with my little brother and make up for lost time." Sonic patted him on the back. "It must have been really hard growing up on the street with nothing but thieves and crooks as your friends."

"Those thieves and crooks were the ones who kept me alive when mom threw me in the trash." Manic growled. "Feral was like a dad to me during Julian's rule. If it weren't for him teaching me how to steal my supper, I would have been left to starve to death."

"Mom never intended for you to get kidnapped from that banker's doorstep by a street rat and sold to a criminal underboss." Sonic stated. "You were sent away to keep you safe from Robuttnik just like the rest of us. Feral wasn't supposed to get his buggy hands on you."

"That may be so, but growing up on the street let me see how the poorest of our subjects live. I gotta stay out there and try to help them."

"So that's why you haven't come home to live with mom like Sonia did. Why don't you just donate your time and money to helping the poor out like the other nobles do?"

"Because I can't stand to see all of those people starving and sleeping in ditches while I'm living in a castle and eating three course meals." Manic stated aloud. "Somebody from the top has got to keep their eye on what's going on at the bottom."

"But that's why Uncle Chuck wants to change the laws to make life better for those on the bottom." Sonic stated.

"Speaking of which, isn't it about time to head back so we don't miss Uncle Chuck's speech?" Manic asked looking on the clock on the wall. "He set to start talking in about an hour." Sonic stammered.

"I… uh… that is…"

"Wait, don't tell me that it already started!" Seeing the look on Sonic's face, the other hedgehog jumped up from the table angerly. "YOU DIRTBAG, WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT THE SPEECH'S TIME HAD BEEN CHANGED?!"

"I have a buddy named Espio from West Side Island, he's very good at turning invisible and following people." Sonic said with a smirk, nodding over to the corner at the café where a purple chameleon flickered into vision for a few second before disappearing again. "How could you do it, Manic? Selling your own family down the river for whatever Bartleby promised you."

"YOU BIG JERK!" Manic rushed him, slamming into Sonic and smashing him out the backdoor of the café into the alley. "HOW DARE YOU JUDGE ME!? YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ME OR HOW I GREW UP!" Catching the blue hedgehog by surprise, Manic dropped low and slammed several punches into Sonic's midsection. The blue blur collapsed to the ground as his brother jumped on him and continued to throw punches. "HOW DARE YOU TRICK ME! I KNOW YOU AND SONIA ARE MAKING FUN OF ME BEHIND MY BACK!" The green hedgehog wailed.

"Oh see, our poor little homeless brother." Manic stated mockingly. "We grew up in nice safe homes while he slept in an old oil drum and ate what he could dig out of the garbage."

"MANIC, IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!" Sonic yelled pushing his brother off of him. "WE DIDN'T KNOW YOU WERE GROWING UP ON THE STREET!" The blue blur suddenly disappeared leaving Manic looking around frantically in the alleyway. Then, a blue wind raced back and forth past Manic several supersonic punches landing on his face and chest at near blinding speed.

"I don't want to hurt you, little bro." Sonic warned. "But I'm not going to let you interrupt Uncle Chuck's speech."

"Don't worry, Sonic. I'm not the one whose going to get hurt here." The bruised green hedgehog reached into his vest pocket wrapping his fingers around a set of brass knuckles. "Anywhere else and you'd kick my tail in, Mister Hero. But these streets are my turf, and you're playing by my rules down here." Felling the breeze coming towards him again, Manic swung with his right hook slamming the brass knuckles into Sonic's face. The blue hedgehog dropped like a stone falling unconscious at his brother's feet.

"Damn, I always wanted to do that." Manic gasped out a small amount of blood coming out of his mouth. "I didn't actually think I could do it." Taking a few steps, Manic collapsed to the ground, sitting up he dragged himself and Sonic over to the nearby wall propping both of them up against it. "Well Sonic, even though I won, it looks like you achieved your goal." He gasped out. "I'm too weak from the beating you gave me to go and stop Uncle Chuck from speaking." Pulling himself back to his feet, Manic limped out of the alleyway and tried to flag down the nearest hover taxi.

"And so my fellow mobians, the great task of repairing the damage to our society must be done today. And if you are the peers and lords who pass this bill into law, history will remember you as the saviors of South Island." Charles proclaimed. The entire audience sat in silence for a moment before standing and bursting into wild applause. Everyone in both houses of Parliament seemed to cheer on Charles' noble ideals, though many in the gallery could have sworn that the delegates in the common house were somewhat faking their enthusiasm.

In one of those Parliament seats in the upper area, Lord Bartleby kept his eyes focused on the overhead skylight on the stain glass dome. He was the only one who noticed a medium sized mobian standing quietly at the edge of the dome outside loading a rifle and pointing it towards Sir Charles' head.

"Well, Sir Charles. I'm afraid this will be your last heartfelt speech before Parliament." Bartleby thought to himself. "It's too bad you chose not to remain on West Side in exile."

On the roof above them, a purple weasel with long eyelashes wearing kahkai shorts and a tan shirt grinned as she pointed the muzzle of her gun down at the dome.

"End of the road for you, Chuckleboy." A feminine voice declared. "Give my regards to the ancient walkers."

"HEY SCUZZBALL! GET AWAY FROM MY UNCLE!" A green hedgehog screamed barreling straight towards the surprised weasel.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL…!?" She shouted, barely having time as the green hedgehog tackled into her. Suddenly, the skylight imploded from above sending glass shards showering down on the terrified audience. The two mobians tumbled downward landing right in the center of the Parliament Hall floor.

"EVERYONE MAKE FOR THE EXIT QUICKLY! SHE HAS A GUN! RUN FOR IT!" someone shouted.

"Stay calm, everyone." Queen Aleema commanded in a loud voice. "GUARDS, SURROUND THE ATTEMPTED ASSASSINS AND MAKE SURE THEY'RE SUBDUED!" The royal guards moved in quickly but were surprised by the sight that met their eyes.

"Hey, look at this… it's Prince Manic." One of them declared. "He must have been trying to stop the assassin."

"I know this one." Another stated. "It's Nac the Weasel from Team Hooligan."

"You better check that again, buddy." A female guard checked the weasel over. "This Nac has breasts."

"Hold on, everyone. I recognize our would-be assassin from the UF wanted posters." Argus the Captain of the Guard declared. "That's Nic the Weasel, Nac's sister. She's sometimes stands in for her screwy brother."

"PUT HER IN IRONS AT ONCE!" Aleema ordered. "And have my son taken to the royal dispensary." It was only a short time later, when the chaos in the Parliament Hall finally died down.

The first thing Manic heard as he came to was the beeping of the heart monitor attached to the band on his arm.

"Whoa, what a bad trip." He said, shaking the wooziness from his head. "Anybody get the number of that big rig that ran me over?"

"Manic, you're okay." Sonia declared throwing her arms around his neck and squeezing tightly. "I was so afraid we lost you."

"I won't be okay for much longer if you don't let go." Manic grumbled; his eyes nearly popping out of his head.

"That was certainly a brave thing you did back there, Sonny." Uncle Chuck told him, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Thanks to your bravery, Parliament was so moved that they quickly reconvened in a side chamber and passed the bill repeal in less than an hour. For all intents and purposes, the merchants of South Island are finished."

"Oh my son, I am so happy that you are safe." Aleema sobbed, hugging her youngest son gently. "Thanks to you, the corporations of the island will soon dissolve and the guild masters will return to economic power once more. And the burden had been lifted from our people forever."

"You mean, I actually made a difference?" Manic asked dumbfoundly. "I guess Sonic and his heroics actually do mean something after all."

"Speaking of Sonic, where is our big brother?" Sonia asked, looking around the room.

"I don't know," Manic replied. "I left him unconscious in the alley where his ninja buddy can find him."

"Oh, I have a feeling we'll be seeing your big brother soon." Uncle Chuck said with a knowing smile, scratching the bottom of his nose with his finger. "I heard he has some business to close with your ex-fiance."

* * *

In the darkness of the night, Bartleby's mansion roared with flames as the city's firefighters desperately tried to put the blaze out. Lord Bartleby was running terrified through the streets trying to get away from his pursuers.

"Going somewhere, Bartlebutts?" A spine-covered hedgehog asked appearing in front of Bartleby and knocking him down. "I'm surprised you managed to get away from the flames I started in your mansion."

"Look, Sonic. I'm sorry I tried to hurt your family." Bartleby pleaded, getting on his knees in front of the hedgehog. "Perhaps, I could make it up to you somehow. Maybe start dating your sister again?"

"Oh, my good Bartleby, you made one terrible mistake in your pleading." The hedgehog whispered tossing a chaos emerald up and down. "You see, I'm not Sonic." The black and red hedgehog stepped into view. "That fake hedgehog simply told me where to find you."

"What… wait… who are you?" The nobleman's eyes went wide. "What do you want with me?"

"My bosses in GUN are very unhappy with the shoddy arms that you've been selling us for the past few years, especially since you were saving all your best stuff to sell to the Doctor." He answered. "Now let us see how GUN's other black market contractors take the message when I spread your innards all over the streets of Starlight City."

"No, please!" Bartleby pleaded. "Can't we make a deal?"

"Let me think about it." Shadow stated. "No." Putting a hand on Bartleby's forehead, he held the chaos emerald up in his other head. "CHAOS CONTROL!"


	6. Search on Red Mountain

Search on Red Mountain

Red Mountain was a location in the mainland that was a distance from Station Square. It was known for its color due to the high amount of iron in the content of the rocks. The Tornado was landing nearby; Knuckles and Bunny got out of the Tornado.

"Now remember, Sally picked up some signals in this area." Rotor stated while in the plane's cockpit. "She wants the two of you to investigate to see what the signals are. Use the device that you have to find the source of the signals. There should be three sources in here."

"Will do." Bunny replied.

"I'll be back in a few hours." Rotor stated. "Call if you have found the three or if anything comes up."

"Got it." Knuckles answered waving. The Tornado took off leaving the two of them on the rocky surface. Bunny picked up her pack. "This is a pretty big mountain; we're probably going to need that few hours.

"So where do we start searching?" She asked.

"How about…?" Knuckles replied. Bunny got hit with a flashbang and she fell backwards.

"Knuckle honey." A familiar voice stated; when Bunny's sight recovered. She saw that Rouge had glomped Knuckles. And the echidna was blushing.

"Oh, it's you again." Bunny stated in annoyance. "You never quit do you."

"What's the matter?" Rouge answered. "Can't keep your man?"

"THAT'S PERSONAL!" Bunny yelled at her blushing.

"Wait, what are you doing here anyway?" Knuckles asked as he was able to get Rouge off of her.

"I can here to claim the master emerald shards here." The bat proclaimed.

"So there are shards here." Knuckles replied.

"You're looking for them as well, Knuckle hun?" Rouge asked.

"Stop calling him that." Bunny stated.

"Still angry? Why's that?" Rouge asked her and thought for a moment. "Oh, I get it. You two haven't kissed yet."

"That's not what it is." Bunny rebuked her; her face an even brighter shade of red.

"You want the emerald shards and I want the emerald shards." Rouge stated. "And I see Knuky's lips hasn't kissed a girl's yet. Which one of us finds more shards is the first girl who gets to kiss Knuckles." The echidna's eyes went wide.

"WHAT!?" Knuckles stated uneasily, raising his two gloved hands. "Now now, wait a minute… Let's not get hasty here."

"I'll take your bet, you hussy." Bunny replied.

"Well then, I wish you luck." Rouge said. "Because Team Dark are now members of GUN, you really don't have much of a chance." She tossed out another flashbang and fled. This time Bunny was prepared for it by shielding her eyes.

"Why did you have to take the bet?" Knuckles asked her.

"I… uh… It's not that important." Bunny said as she grabbed his hand. "Let's go."

"Hey, wait. Whoa." He said as he was being pulled along by the rabbit. "Don't I get a say in this?"

They approached the mountain side and discover that there was an active mining facility in the location. The duo entered the facility over the fence and ducked for cover.

"This place is crawling with badniks." Knuckles said.

"Yeah, poorly built badniks." Bunny noted. As the badniks in question looked like men in cardboard boxes and aluminum foil. "Must be prototypes to the swatbots."

"It looks like they are just gathering resources." Knuckles replied. He saw some of the bots carrying raw iron ore in carts to the inner part of the facility. He saw the last cart have a shard of the emerald sticking out of the pile. "There's the shard." The two mobians followed the bots inside. Knuckles looked around because he got the feeling he was being watched and followed.

Meanwhile, Rouge was inside the facility. She was looking around the control room and looked at the cameras and found the two other mobians getting in. Then, she looked at the control panel.

"Hmm, I wonder what this button does?" she thought as she pushed the button. She saw some of the robots move differently. "Aha." She saw that they were following a caravan.

Knuckles and Bunny approached the clearing into a larger room. Before they could enter the area, a set of robots blocked the mobians' path. They started to dance in front of them.

"What in the…" Bunny stated. "Out of our way."

"Don't worry, Knukie." Rouge said over the microphone. "I'll make sure I have my strawberry lipstick on." Bunny growled.

"Rouge you cheater." Bunny stated.

"There was no rule about trying to stop your opponent." The bat replied.

"You just made that situation up." She rebuked.

"You really want to get that kiss that cute echidna, don't you." The bat answered.

"CUTE!?" Knuckles answered blushing.

"But I have some shards to find, I'll leave you for now." Rouge stated. Bunny was had punched her way through the robots and Knuckles followed her. They saw the shard fall into a large pile of iron ore.

"Oh great." Bunny stated. "It'll be hard to find the shard at this point."

"Well, let's start digging." Knuckles said jumping into the pile of ore. He was tossing ore pieces to the side trying to find it. Bunny went into the pile as well. "I found it." He pulled it out.

"Ha, take that, batgirl." Bunny stated as the two got out of the pile. The pile lifted up from behind them and was placed in a big cauldron; the ore that was in the pile was melted down to get the iron.

"And good timing to have found it." Knuckle stated. "Or we would have been well done."

All the while, Rouge was around the outside equipment. She leapt over the robots that were digging into the rock for the raw material. She brought out a scouter and placed it on her.

"Now, I can check the power levels because the shards give out a large amount of energy." Rouge said to herself. She looked around and saw one of the construction bots with a high readinge. "Holy cow, that robot's power level is over 9000. That one must have a master emerald shard." She looked and saw that the shard was stuck in the robot's joints. She reached for it and had trouble moving it because the bot was still in motion as she was tugging on it. "Ugh, stop that moving." She stated and she whacked him. He stopped and Rouge pulled the shard out of him. The robots turned to her; she ran away with angry robots giving chase. "AHH!"

In the control room, Bunny was at the controls with a joystick controlling the robots. She snickered.

"Well, two can play at this game." She said.

"Shouldn't you be focused on getting the shard?" Knuckles asked. "We have one and she has one. There's one more left in the place."

"Where would that be?" She asked.

"From what the device to check for signals, it states there is one near the top of the mountain." He explained.

"Alright, let's go. She's a flyer and we're not." Bunny answered leaving the controls. Rouge was able to lose the robots and those bots just simply returned to what they were doing earlier.

"At least, I got the shard." Rouge said. She looked up and saw the duo climbing up the mountainside. "So, the two have a lead to a shard? Looks like I'll have to follow them up."

She pursued them.

Knuckles and Bunny jumped from platform to platform getting higher and higher. The echidna stopped for a moment. Bunny turned around.

"Knuckles, why are you stopping?" She asked. "We have to hurry."

"I thought I saw…" he said.

"Saw what?"

"Nevermind, must be my imagination." He answered.

"If that was Rouge, we need to head up there pronto." Bunny exclaimed. When they almost were at that top, they looked down and noticed that Rouge was catching up quickly. "It's the batgirl, she's coming fast."

"I'll help you up, Knuckle hun." Rouge stated to the echidna.

"STOP CALLING HIM THAT!" Bunny barked at her. All three of them made it to the top at the same time. There was a large rock in the center of the three large sets of stone and on this rock was the last shard in the area. Knuckles just put his hands to his knees to catch his breath. While Bunny and Rouge made a final dash to the shard.

"I'm going to get that kiss from Knukie." Rouge said.

"No, I am." Bunny rebuked.

"So, you finally admitted it. You want to kiss him." The bat said.

"JUST BE QUIET!" Bunny yelled. As the two argued and raced towards the shard, they didn't notice that the shard was on a string. Then, it was pulled away. They were shocked when they looked towards the shard seeing it was gone.

"WHAT THE…!?" Both of them said simultaneously. The two girls crashed into the wall. "Ooph." They both dropped the shards they have picked up. Knuckles went to help them but a figure in black armor stopped him. The armor also had purple markings on it.

"Huh?" Knuckles stated. The figure turned and picked up the two dropped shards. And held up the shard that was on a string. The two mobians faced her.

"You two thought you were going to win." The figure said. "You are wrong." The figure took of the helmet. It was a female periwinkle colored echidna that was wearing the armor. All three of them were shocked at what they saw. "No, I have won." She turned to face Knuckles.

"HEY, WHO ARE YOU and mmph…" Knuckles shouted but the girl went up to him and kissed him on the lips. He blushed quickly.

"The batgirl was right. You're quite attractive." She said looking right into his eyes. His face got even redder than his coat.

"YOU LITTLE THIEF!" Rouge screeched.

"THAT WAS OUR KISS!" Bunny roared. Both were furious at the girl. She turned to face them.

"If you wanted to be the first ones to kiss him, you should have done it right then and there." The girl explained. There was no response from those two.

"Who are you anyway?" Knuckles asked.

"My name is Percy Shade." The girl said. "But I wish I can stay but I need to take these shards to the Imperator."

"Don't you mean emperor?" Bunny asked.

"Uh, no." Percy answered as she used a smoke bomb. Knuckles coughed and the girl got away. The other two ran to the echidna.

"Are you alright?" Bunny asked.

"Did she hurt you, Knuckle hun?" Rouge asked.

"ENOUGH ALREADY!" The rabbit yelled at the bat. Knuckles shook his head and flinched.

"Wait, she was wearing Nocturnus armor." Knuckles replied. "She's one of the enemy. We have to prevent her from escaping."

"She already did." Rouge answered.

"Damn." He sighed. "Nothing left to do but report to Princess Sally."

"Knuckles, did you know her?" Bunny asked.

"No, I didn't." He answered. "But I do know, from her armor, that she is a member of the Nocturnus Clan."

"And they are?" Rouge asked.

"From what my grandfather told me before he died, the Nocturnus Clan is the bitter enemy of the Knuckles Clan which I am native to." The echidna explained. "Both echidna clans have been fighting each other since antiquity, always on opposing sides. He told me during the Great War, the Nocturnus Clan allied themselves with the Battle Bird Armada. Thus naturally, my clan joined the Coalition."

"Are there any more, Knukie?" Bunny asked.

"Hey, that's my nickname for Knuckle hun." Rouge stated.

"You already have a cheesy one. So, suck it." Bunny rebuked, giving her a cold glare.

"My clan was wiped out." Knuckles said. "As far as I know, I am the sole survivor of my clan. As for the Nocturnus, I am uncertain of their fate."

"I'll contact GUN and see what they think of this." Rouge stated pulling out her communicator. "Hello, Agent Topaz. Can you look up some information?" She paused. "I'm looking for stuff on the Nocturnus Clan." There was a brief silence. "Oh, really?" She paused. "Okay, thanks." The bat turned off the device and turned to the duo. "I appears that the Nocturnus clan was sealed away in the Void after the destruction of the Knuckles clan."

"Then, how'd they get out?" Bunny asked.

"It doesn't matter now. They're out and about." Knuckles said. "We have to stop them."

"I've got some matters to attend to back at GUN." Rouge stated. "I bet we'll run into each other again. See you later, cutie." Rouge stroked her fingers under Knuckles' chin in a flirting manner.

"STOP MESSING WITH KNUCKLES!" Bunny yelled as the bat flew off.


	7. Back to Medereck Isle

Back to Medereck Isle

The Chaotix were now moving their stuff in thus to be closer to Team Sonic on the princess's request. On a break, Tails was sitting at the table having breakfast with Cosmo.

"Tails, don't mind me asking can you get the salt?" She asked. "There isn't any here."

"Sure thing." He replied and he got out of the seat and headed into the kitchen in the other room. But as he entered into the room, he saw an orange echidna girl with cobalt eyes. She was in a tank top midriff shirt, tribal skirt, and white-strapped sandals. "Huh?" The echidna turned to face him.

"Oh, hello." She said.

"Hey, Tails." He replied. "Who are you?"

"My name is Tikal." The echidna answered. "It's nice to meet you."

"Same here." He stated. "So, are you by yourself?"

"I'm not alone." She replied. "I'm here with a friend."

"Who is she?" Tails asked.

"There you are, Tikal." A voice came from behind Tails. He turned around and spotted Marine. "I was wondering where you have gone off to."

"I was just looking around." She responded.

"All right, I was wondering what happened to ya." Marine answered. "Hi, Tails." She stated heading out." Tails just waved to her as she left.

"Excuse me, Tikal." Tails said to the echidna. "Can I have the salt?"

"Okay." She said, reaching into the cupboard and pulling it out. "Here you go."

"Thanks." The fox said. He left and returned to the table with Cosmo. "Here's the salt."

"Thanks." Cosmo said as she put the salt on hashbrowns.

"So, like I said earlier." Tails explained. "Sonic is now looking for his father; he fought in the last battle of the Great War. He was leading the coalition's navy."

"Are you talking about the Great Battle?" Cosmo asked. Tails had gotten curious about what he heard.

"The great battle?" He asked.

"I remember my mother told me and my sister about a battle that had happened off the coast of the isle." Cosmo explained. "She found there were a few hedgehogs on the island. A few of them guarding a leader for a navy."

"Wait a second!" Tails said. "That's the Battle of Medereck Pass!" He turned to her. "Cosmo, you've just helped out big time! We'll have to head to the island as soon as we are done eating."

"I can't go back home." Cosmo said. "Because my father is on the island." The fox's ears drooped as well as his tails.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that." He said with a sigh.

"But maybe, she could go with you." Cosmo stated. Tails turned around and he saw Tikal.

"Uh, Cosmo?" He said. "I just met her."

"At least, you two can get to know each other." Cosmo explained. "I heard Marine is a close friend of hers. So, she has to be friendly."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Tails answered.

"Just don't do anything stupid while you're gone." Cosmo warned him.

"Don't worry, Cosmo." Tails answered. "I won't."

After the plane had landed on Medereck Isle, Tails and Tikal started heading toward the Seedrian town. A medereck looked and spotted the two and Tails noticed him; he ran off.

"What's his problem?" Tails asked.

"I don't know." Tikal replied. As they entered into the destination, they got a surprise. A high ranking official came up to the young fox.

"Ah." The medereck stated. "Tails, the champion of the Seedrian and the vanquisher of Lyric. Welcome to our town."

"Uh, thanks." Tails answered, feeling uneasy.

"If we had known about your arrival, we would have prepared somethin' for ya." The guy stated. "What brings you here?"

"I was wanting to talk with Galaxina." Tails stated.

"Oh yes, of course." He stated. "I will summon her."

"You must have done something great here." Tikal stated to the fox.

"I did." Tails answered. "This is the only place where my fame exceeds that of Sonic." Then, Galaxina came before the two mobians.

"Tails, I'm glad that you are here." She said to the fox. "Are things faring well?"

"They are."

"And how is my sister?"

"She is doing well too."

"I'm glad that she can be trusted with someone like you." She stated.

"Yeah." Tails replied.

"You two make such a cute couple." The fox just blushed after hearing the comment. "What did you want to talk about?"

"I wanted to talk to you about the Great Battle." Tails answered.

"Oh…" Galaxina stated in surprise. "I've heard about that from my mother. She had told me that the coalition's leader of the navy was on the isle. He was also the king of South Island from what she had told me. He was commanding his troops from the safety of Medereck Isle and he had a few bodyguards."

"Okay." Tails said. "Is there anything else?"

"Well…" She stated but she paused to think. "After the battle, the hedgehogs stayed the night and then they were gone by the next evening. But later on, I heard that there was a hermit that appeared shortly afterwards."

"A hermit?" Tails asked.

"He lives farther inland in the mire near the Forest of Willows." Galaxina stated. "It would be west of here. That's the extent of what I know."

"Thanks." Tails answered politely.

"You're welcome." Galaxina stated. "You may come here anytime."

The two mobians left the Seedrian town and headed westward. They had entered the Forest of Willows by the early afternoon. The forest had various types of willow trees growing within it.

"Man, I'm getting thirsty." Tails stated. He noticed a river nearby and went down and took a drink from the river. Then, he spat it out. "Ugh, yuck."

"The water is brackish." Tikal said. "Didn't you notice the mangroves?"

"I didn't see that." The fox stated. Then, he noticed something in the water. "What's that over there in the depths?" Tikal looked and her eyes went wide.

"Is that a chaos emerald?" Tikal asked.

"So, it seems that you have an interest in that gemstone." A voice cried out. The two turned around and saw the purple robed figure. "I will not let you have that chaos emerald."

"YOU!" Tails shouted. "You were the one who froze Sonic and myself to steal that emerald."

"And so what if I did." The figure stated boastfully. "It'll only make Chaos stronger. It doesn't matter how I get the emeralds like I'm distracting you so he can take the emerald."

"WHAT!?" the both of them stated. They turned around and noticed the emerald is gone.

"Now, the test of strength comes." The figure said. "Chaos, come forth. Show them your power." Tikal showed something moving in the brackish water moving towards them.

"TAILS! WATCH OUT!" Tikal stated, pulling the young fox from the water. A blast of water sprayed where Tails was. Then, Chaos appeared before them. He was more muscular as both of his arms had metallic wiring inside them; he was bulker than the last time the fox saw him.

"Chaos, you must stop." Tikal stated. "This isn't right for you to do this." The figure just laughed.

"Hahahaha. Foolish girl, it only takes orders from me." The figure said. Then, Chaos punched Tikal sending her back into the brush.

"Now, you done it." Tails growled at the watery creature. Chaos morphed into a giant ball of watery mass and leapt into the air. The fox flew out of the way of the attacks. He turned back and saw that Chaos had returned to its normal self. Tails saw the opportunity and landed a blaster on him.

Chaos lifted his arm and fired a blast of water at him. Tails ducked behind a rock and noticed that the blast was able to slice through trees. He did more blasts towards him and saw the creature used his arms to produce a shield to block the shots against him. Tails progressively moved forward, dodging Chaos' water blasts. He was able to flank him and hit him with a tail smack.

"Alright, take that!" Tails said. The fox went in to do another tail smack, but the shield came up. When the fox's tails hit the shield, he got zapped with electricity. Tails was stunned and Chaos punched him back into a tree. "Oww!" Tails pulled out his scimitar and rushed towards Chaos once again. Chaos raised his arms and raised the shield. For a second time, Tails got zapped and punched away. "Ugh!"

"Your attacks are futile against him." The purple figure stated. "And this is only with two of the emeralds. Just imagine the power he will have with all seven in his possession." Chaos raised his arm and fired out the water blasts again. Tails dodged the attacks that were coming.

He noticed the willow tree behind Chaos was unstable. The young fox fired a blast towards the creature. It sidestepped out of the way and the shot hit the tree.

"Perfect." Tails stated. Loud cracking sounds were heard. Chaos turned as the unstable willow collapsed on top of him. The creature was squished.

"So, Chaos isn't strong enough yet." The figure growled. He casted a magic spell on the beast and put him in a glass jar to recuperate. "You might have won now. But Chaos will become more powerful." Then, the figure teleported away.

"You better run." The fox stated. At that moment, Tikal came out of the foliage.

"Are you okay, Tails?" She asked.

"I should be fine." Tails replied. "But I don't think trying to talk to him was a good idea." Tikal said nothing. "Do you know anything about Chaos?"

"I know what my grandmother told me about him." She replied. "A long time ago, a chao wandered outside of the chao gardens. He came to the Alter of the Emeralds one night. As he approached the Master Emerald and the seven chaos emeralds, it was starting to storm. The chao became soaked from the rain. Before he could find shelter, lightning struck onto the emeralds and then struck the chao. The energy from the emeralds and the power from the storm forever changed the chao into Chaos."

"That thing used a chao!?" Tails asked in total shock.

"Yes." She replied.

"Talk about an unexpected turn of events." The fox said. "But we also need to get to the hermit's house. The two continued down the path.

When they had left the Forest of Willows, they arrived in a mire. They had noticed a hut on a small hill made from wood and reeds.

"I think that is the hermit's hut." Tikal stated.

"C'mon, let's go." Tails added as the two hurried to the house. As they approached, they noticed an older brown hedgehog with blue striped tattoos sleeping on a chair through the open doorway. "Hello? Excuse me."

"Huh? What?" The hedgehog stated. Then, he noticed the fox and echidna. "Mobians? HERE!?"

"Please, calm down." Tikal said. "We just want to ask you something."

"Well… if you wanted to talk, I'm all ears." The hedgehog stated. "You may ask."

"Do you know anything about the Battle of Medereck Pass?" Tails asked. The hedgehog said nothing. "I guess not." He had a short pause. "Sorry to have bothered you, we were just wanting to find Sonic's father." The two turned around to leave.

"Wait…" the hedgehog said. The fox and echidna stopped. "I know very well what you are talking about." They turned around again to face him.

"What do you know?" Tikal asked.

"I was there." The hedgehog replied. "I was at the Battle of Medereck Pass. I was one of the king's bodyguards."

"One of his bodyguards!?" Tails stated. "Then, you must know where Sonic's dad has gone to."

"I wish I can tell you that. But alas, even I do not know." He stated. "And it was because of those events, that I reside here."

"What events?" Tikal asked.

"Originally, I was a member of the Royal Guard of South Island. My name at the time was Nazo. When the king went to war, I was taken along to protect him." He explained. "When the Battle of Medereck Pass came, he came up with a plan to have the flagship be a part of the main battle; while he would command the navy from the shores. We still don't understand why he did that, but regardless the battle was won for the coalition."

"That's good." Tails replied.

"I asked the native Mederex about the sky and the clouds for they looked very bizarre." Nazo stated. "They stated that it was normal for the atmosphere around the island to be like that; living here for an extended time proved that the claim was correct."

"But why are you here and not in South Island?" Tikal asked.

"When the battle was won, he decided to spend some time on the island." Nazo continued. "He stated he would be gone for an hour or two. Those hours turned to three hours and then four hours. We decided to see why he was taking so long. We asked the Metereck town we were near, but they said they didn't see him."

"He vanished?" Tails asked one last time.

"We concluded that he had disappeared. We had searched high and searched low looking in every possible place to hide such a figure. But our search was fruitless, it was like he never stepped foot on the island." Nazo stated. "We knew if we went back we would be forced to explain what happened to the king, we would be up to our ears in disgrace and shame. Thus none of us ever returned to South Island and have abandoned our names and started over; as far as I know I am the last one alive. How could we ever say that we let the king die?"

"From what we heard, the king is still alive." Tails told him. "He's still out there." Nazo perked up.

"Are you serious?" He asked.

"Sonic got confirmation from the Oracle." The fox continued.

"Oh, thank goodness." Nazo stated. "There is hope yet." Then, he sighed. "If there is nothing more to talk about you may leave."

"Thank you." Tails said to him. Then, the two mobians left.

* * *

 _"That's what I learned, Sonic." Tails said to his friend during the night._

 _"Wow. You've helped me out, buddy." Sonic replied. "And this Tikal girl seems very nice."_

 _"She's happy-go-lucky from what I have seen." Tails added. "It's like nothing is able to make her sad." Unbeknownst to the two of them, Tikal was by herself alone. She is crying and moaning, trapped in an abyss of complete and total despair._


	8. The Convention of Echidnas

The Convention of Echidnas

Knuckles was walking down the street of the Station Square, he was talking on his communicator with Sonic.

"Oh thank goodness that you found Amy again." Knuckles answered. "But I'm sorry to hear that chaos has gotten stronger."

"I know, knucklehead." Sonic answered. "We'll have to work twice as hard." Then knuckles noticed a sign on the wall.

"Ugh."

"What is it?"

"It's another echidna-con poster. It's been advertised a lot recently." Knuckles replied. "I heard this time it's going to be in Station Square. I don't go to cons like… What the…?"

"What is it?"

"It says it's hosting a talent show and the winner gets shards of the master emerald." The echidna stated. "Change of plans, I'm going to echidna-con to win that talent show. But I'm going to need someone to go with and a few people to make sure that Shade doesn't get her hands on it."

As Knuckles and Tikal entered the convention, they saw many mobians dressed up like echidnas. Tikal was looking around the place seeing so many people.

"Wow, this is really impressive." Tikal stated. "Look at all the people who worked hard at this echidna culture festival."

"Don't be fooled by what you see." Knuckles answered her. Then, a shrew dressed up came to the two of them.

"Man, talk about your outfit." She stated referring to Tikal. "I mean, it's like so cheesy and tacky. No echidna would wear that." Tikal was surprised.

"But this is my favorite outfit." She replied.

"Obviously, you don't have a very good fashion sense." She stated as she handed her a business card. "This will help you with better clothing. Just call the number." Then, she left. When the shrew wasn't looking, Tikal threw the card away.

"There is the sign-up booth." Knuckles said. "I'll be right back." He headed up to the booth and someone stepped in front of him.

"Well, if it isn't that handsome echidna boy." The echidna stated. Knuckles turned and he saw Shade looking back at him.

"Well, if it isn't Shade." He stated. "I bet you are going to steal the shards of the master emerald again."

"Not this time," She stated. "This time I'm going to try things fair and square by beating the talent show."

"Well, you're going to have to beat me." Knuckles answered.

"I will accept your challenge." She said. "You will have to find something that can beat my combat routine I have planned." She looked up and noticed somebody cut in line. "Hey, don't cut in line."

"Sorry," the pink echidna stated. "But if you don't sign up, you don't compete."

"Who do you think you are?" Knuckles asked.

"My name is Julie-su." The pink echidna stated. "If you want any chance to win, you have to beat my hilarious comedy." She walked off after signing. "Well, good luck. You're going to need it."

"Such an arrogant… ugh." Shade stated.

"For once, I agree with you." Knuckles answered. He watched as the girl signed up. "So, your name is Percy."

"Let's see who will are going to win." She said. "We are lucky that we actually got in as the last two participants."

"May the best echidna win." Knuckles answered. Then, she walked off as Knuckles signed up. "There now I have to do is prepare." Then, he saw Sonic and Amy come up to him.

"So, knucklehead, what are you planning to do for the talent show?" Sonic asked. "Are you going to show off those combat skills of yours?"

"Actually, I had something else planned." Knuckles stated. "I'm going to sing."

"If I understand correctly, your clan was known for its warriors and not singers." Sonic stated smugly.

"Says the person who is vocally tone-deaf." Amy snapped back at him. Sonic was shocked at Amy's sassy comment.

"Well, I'll see you at the talent show." He stated, smiling and walking off.

"Am I really that bad at singing?" Sonic thought.

Meanwhile, Bunny was walking around the convention with Tikal. They sat down at the table to have a bite to eat. Bunny pulled out a sandwich to eat, but noticed Tikal doesn't have anything.

"Uh, Tikal?" She asked. "Don't you want anything to eat?"

"No, thank you." Tikal replied.

"I haven't seen you eat the mornin', so I thought I would ask." Bunny answered. "Are you sure you don't want nothin'?"

"I'm sure." Tikal said.

"Okay, if you say so." Bunny stated; she took a bite out of her turkey sandwich but was concerned about Tikal's health. "So, do you know anythin' about Knuckles? I'm wonderin' why you seem to know him."

"Well, I remember that I babysat him when he was younger." Tikal answered. Bunny perked up and looked at her.

"Really?" She asked. "I had no idea by the way you looked. How are you able to look so young?" She leaned and whispered in her ear. "Can you let me in on those anti-aging secrets?"

"Huh…" Tikal replied.

"I'm sorry." Bunny stated. "I didn't mean to rush in like that. We don't have to talk about that." Tikal looked around and looked at the echidnas.

"Wait, is it just me or does everyone look like Knuckles except with a different color palette." She asked. There were a few within ear shot of her.

"Excuse me, we are original characters!" One of the guys shouted at her.

"Although, to be fair you could be a little more original." Bunny stated.

"We are the most original out of the original!" He continued to whine at her.

"As I think about it, there is little skill in your performance." Tikal mentioned. The crowd continued to get angry at Tikal.

"That does it! After her!" The boy shouted. Tikal ran away with the boys chasing her. Bunny was able to stop one of the guys and knocked him to the floor. The group of rowdies pursued her and she disappeared into the crowd. They entered the crowd as well but lost track of her.

"Huh? Where'd she go?" one of them asked.

"We'll split up and find her." Another said. Then, the group did that. The leader went down a path and found an orange echidna. He grabbed her shoulder.

"Finally, I got you, you little…" He stated turning her around. It was Cosmo wearing an outfit that Tikal made for her. She was a little scared. "Uh?" He got a tap on his shoulder; the guy looked around and found a pissed off Tails. Then, the fox knocked him out with a punch to the face.

"That's no way to treat a girl." Tails said to him. Then, he turned to Cosmo. "Are you okay?"

"I was scared for a minute." She replied. "Thanks for helping me out."

"No problem." He looked at his watch. "Well, the talent show is about to start. So, we should get to the performance hall.

The party was in the performance hall. Bunny, was seated next to Tails, seated next to Cosm, seated next to Sonic, seated next to Amy.

"When is Knuckles coming on?" Tails asked Bunny.

"I heard he's the last one to be on stage." She answered. "But we have to watch the whole thing to watch for any trouble."

"But who's on now?"

"I heard this is Julie-Su is on." Bunny replied.

"But what's so funny about her jokes?" Cosmo asked. "They're immature."

"Not to mention lowest common denominator." Bunny continued. She paused. "Thank goodness, she's done. I'm about ready to scream if I had to hear another one of those dirty jokes."

"Now ladies and gentlemen," the announcer said. "Next up, we have Percy Shade the echidna doing a combat performance for us. She and her team are going to replicate the fighting style of the forgotten Nocturnus clan." The audience clapped their hands.

"Well of course, she'll do that. She's a member of the Nocturnus clan." Sonic said. "This will give us a chance to see how they fight, in case we need to face them."

"Have you ever tried to slow down on the action?" Amy asked.

"I haven't really thought about it." Sonic replied.

"Because if you always go fast, you are going to miss out on what's going on around you." Amy pointed out.

"Well… I guess you do have a point." Sonic replied admitting that detail.

"Wow, Shade is really good with her combat skills." Tails stated. "Knuckles is going to have a tough time beating her with his skills."

"He's not going to do combat." Sonic stated to Tails.

"What!?" Bunny asked.

"He said he was going to sing." He continued. "I've never heard him sing."

"He has a good voice." She stated. "But I didn't think he would actually try it for a talent show." Then, they saw Percy finish up her routine. There was a great applause from the audience.

"Well, let's see Knuckles beat that." Percy thought.

"Shade, we done it." One of the nocturnus boys said.

"Now, let's head to our seats and watch what our adversary has to show off." Shade said to them as they joined the audience.

"It is now time for the final event." The announcer said. "We show off the guardian of the master emerald, Knuckles the Echidna of Team Sonic. He will be… uh… singing? What? This is our seventh singer today. What do people think this is West Side Idol?" The folks were now talking amongst themselves.

"Well, here it is." Sonic stated. "Knux is coming on the stage."

The red echidna came onto the stage as the final one to participate. Most of the audience was trying to hide a snicker from what the echidna was trying to do. He had a glass of water on stage before he went to perform.

"Well Knuckles," Bunny said, calmly to herself. "I hope you know what you are doing." Then, the sound of an orchestra started to play as the lights faded with a single spotlight on him.

In his best tenor voice, the red echidna sang 'Ave Maria'. His voice echoed across the performance hall, stunning the audience. Sonic was amazed by how much emotion was in his song, to the point where he didn't even recognize him.

"This… this is beautiful." Bunny thought as she heard the song, imaging Knuckles in a suit on the opera stage. Some of the audience members including Shade were brought to tears in the second verse.

"Are you crying, Percy?" The nocutrnus member asked her.

"No, I just had something in my eye." She replied.

When the song came to a close, she was the first to applaud, followed by the rest of Team Sonic, followed by the rest of the audience. Knuckles had heard cheers from many and a tear came down from his eye because of the recognition. He picked up some of the roses that were coming towards him.

"Well, it seems we have a winner." Shade stated. Then, she turned to her Nocturnus clan members. "Let's go, boys."

"But what about the shards?" One of them asked.

"Leave them." Percy stated. "He's earned them. We'll beat him next time." At that moment, she and the Nocturnus members left the con.

The group gathered after the talent show with Knuckles, congratulating him on his victory at the talent show. He was holding some roses that were tossed to him.

"I got to say, knucklehead." Sonic said. "I'm quite impressed."

"At least, there is more shards recovered." Knuckles answered. "It's time to leave Echidna-con." Then, he passed by Bunny Rabbot. "And to someone I know dearly." He handed her one of the roses. Bunny started to cry.

"Knuckles, I don't know what to say." She replied.

"Isn't that sweet?" Sonic said aloud, making a kissy face towards them. Bunny grabbed him by the collar with her metal arm. She throw him over her shoulder onto a building top. "Ow…"

"That's what you get for ruining a tender moment." Amy stated to him. Then, she saw Tikal and went over to her.

"There you are." Amy said. "I was wondering where you have run off to."

"I wasn't far." Tikal answered. "I saw Knuckles' performance."

"It was amazing."

"I saw that. He has grown up and matured." Tikal stated.

"Are you going to stick around?"

"No, I have to get back to the headquarters."

"Can you tell Princess Sally about our success?"

"I can't; it's like she ignores me." Tikal stated.

"I'm sure, she hasn't gotten to know you yet." Amy replied.

"Thank you, Amy." Tikal said. "See you later."

"Bye." The pink hedgehog waved as she saw Tikal leave. She looked down. "What in the…?"


	9. Elemental, My Dear, Sonic Pt: 1

Elemental, My Dear, Sonic Pt: 1

"And in other news today, meteorologists are baffled at the recent long surge of rainstorms the Station Square region has been having recently especially in light of no cloud systems moving into the Yucatan Peninsula recently. But now our top story, Professor Charles Throndike announced that his new speed turbine generator would be ready to install in the police team's race cars by next Friday. S-Team leader, Captain Samuel Speed said today –" The news reporter was cut off as Knuckles hit the button on the remote.

"Man, can you believe this?" the echidna grumbled in frustration sitting on the edge of the bed. "Princess Sally gives us three weeks off while the Chaotix fill in for us on special missions and we have to choose a resort town that has nothing but rain." He crossed his arms. "This vacation is turning out to be a real drip."

"You're telling me." Sonic exclaimed polishing the blue surf board he had brought with him. "I was hoping to catch some serious rays, but all this rain is leaving my weekend totally washed up."

"Y'all think that y'all got it bad, boys." Bunny commented, walking over from the adjoining room. "How can a gal get a good fur tan with all this messy drizzle going on out there?" She looked down at the new outfit she was wearing. "And I just bought this bikini just for this trip."

Both Sonic and Knuckles looked over and there eyes went wide as they both gave the same clever and intelligent response.

"Duh duh duh duh duh." The two answered, in unison.

"Y'all can put the drool back in your mouth now." She said rolling her eyes. "Leave it to male hormones to do my friends' talking for them." After composing himself, Sonic wiped a bead of sweat from his brow.

"Hey, is it just me or is anyone else think it's getting kind of hot in here?" Sonic asked.

"Well, I do have that effect on men." Bunny replied with a laugh.

"No, not you. It really does feel like an oven in here." Knuckles answered looking over at the thermostat. "The temperature looks normal. Do you think their heater might be busted?"

"It doesn't feel like it's coming from the resister." Sonic noted, walking over to the door across from the bathroom. "In fact, this closet seems to be the source of the… YOUCH!" Sonic yelled as his hand touched the closet door. "Hey, this thing is red hot."

"Let me handle it, sugarhog." Bunny replied going over and grabbing the doorknob with her cybernetic arm. Pulling the door open, she found to her surprise someone in the closet staring back at her. "Hey, y'all not gonna believe this. There's a catgirl tied up in here." Rushing over to the closet, the other two saw a familiar lavender colored feline with her arms and legs tied up and duct taped across her mouth.

"Hey, isn't that Queen Blaze?" Sonic exclaimed, not believing what he was seeing. "But what is she doing tied up and gagged in our hotel room closet."

"Gee Blaze," The red echidna answered. "I didn't know you were into that sort of thing." Immediately, Knuckles had both a hedgehog and rabbit fist punching him on either side of the head knocking him down. "Oh, I see flickies."

Helping her up, Sonic immediately untied her while Bunny tore the tape off of her lips.

"MYROW! THAT HURTS!" Blaze roared. "Thanks for getting me out of there, you three. I felt like I was going to go crazy cramped up like that."

"Tweren't nothing, Blaze girl. Happy to help y'all out." Bunny added. "But how did y'all end up in our room closet?"

"It's a long story, Miss Rabbot. I came here following a lead on the Sol Emeralds that the thief had brought them to Station Square." Blaze exclaimed, standing up and wiping herself off. "When I found out that Sonic and his friends were on vacation in the same city, I came back here to wait for the three of you. But an evil looking weasel and his two cohorts jumped me and through me into this closet."

"Sounds like the Hooligans to me." Sonic grumbled, punching his fist into his palm. "But you have the power to control fire, how on Mobius did those losers manage to overcome you."

"Well, it was…" Blaze's face turning red as she looked away. "I managed to knock the weasel's gun away and set the bear on fire when he tried to wrestle me to the ground. But the laughing grinning insane one threw a catnip bomb in my face."

"Well if Team Hooligan is involved, that must mean someone big and powerful has your Sol Emeralds." Knuckles said thoughtfully. "But there are a lot of big and powerful people who could be after your artifacts."

"Dreadboys, right. It could be anyone from Eggman to Mogul." Bunny replied.

"Let's check the closet here, where you were tied up." Knuckles replied digging him among their clothes. "Maybe Hooligan left a clue behind." After rummaging through the suitcases and towels, Knuckles found a folded up piece of paper at the bottom of the closet. "Hey, this looks like some kind of a filer or something."

"Huh, it seems to be an advertisement for the opening of the new Station Square Bright Lights Casino." Bunny noted, starting to read of the filer. "Serving both human and mobian patrons alike. The Bright Lights Casino is open to only the wealthiest and most respectable residents and visitors that Station Square has to offer."

"Well, that means not getting in." Sonic grumbled scratching the bottom of his nose with his index finger. "Me and this knucklehead are the bottom of the barrel when it comes to mobian society."

"Sonic, are you kidding me?" Blaze asked, the fur on her back tensing up. "We have a queen, a royal prince, the niece of a wealthy West Side Island aristocrat, and a proud tribal warrior. We're the cream of the crop when it comes to Mobian society."

"Yes, but we are also of known heroes traveling with the queen who is known to be looking for the Sol Emeralds." Sonic replied. "They'll see us coming from a mile away and that will be the end of our little expedition."

"Then, we are going to need to go in disguised." Blaze replied, curiously. "But what kind of disguises would get us into a casino?" Everybody thought for a moment before Sonic and Knuckles turning to stare at Bunny and Blaze with a leering gaze.

"What!? Why are y'all staring… Oh no, not again." Bunny rebuked. "Y'all aren't getting me into that outfit again. And it's below Queen Blaze's dignity."

"What? What is it?" Blaze asked. "What are you talking about? Nothing is below my dignity, if it means getting the emeralds back."

"Blaze girl, trust me there's got to be a better way to do it than this?" Bunny grumbled. "If you two are going to insist on this, I demand a coin toss to determine if it's the boys or girls this time…"

* * *

"Gee, it's a good thing we won the coin toss, Knuckles." Sonic chuckled. "I didn't even know you had that double-sided quarter on you, with the two heads."

"It's okay, it's cool, Sonic." Knuckles replied with a smile to Sonic. "Besides, I'll do anything for cheesecake." He stated as he shoved a piece of cheesecake into his mouth. The two mobians were standing on the rooftop opposite the flashing neon lights at the entrance to the casino, looking down at the customers going in and out through two sets of binoculars; Sonic had borrowed from Tails from before the trip; he told Tails that they were for him and Knuckles to go bird watching but Sonic really had another use for them.

The two kept their eyes open for some sort of signal from the girls but so far there was no indication that they had accomplished their task.

"Geez, when are they gonna get that door on the roof unlocked?" Knuckles asked, impatiently. "It feels like we've been waiting here forever."

"Give 'em some time, Knucklehead. It's been an hour." Sonic rolled his eyes. "Besides, I don't wanna think about what those poor girls are going through right now."

* * *

"I do not believe this." A feline voice growled in a dangerous tone. "When this mission is complete, I swear I'm going to kill your male companions."

"Ah, don't be too hard on them, sugar." Bunny replied sadly, shaking her head. "Besides, I want the pleasure of strangling those two carpet baggers."

"HEY YOU TWO, Don't just stand there gawking." Miss Possum yelled at the two girls. "We've got customers at tables three and four waiting on cocktails."

Bunny and Blaze had attempted to get into the casino disguised as either cooks or gambling table workers. But the only jobs open were the most degrading ones on the casino floor. The two girls were dressing in high heels fish nets and one-piece bathing suits with little bowties around their necks. Blaze glared angrily at all the men staring at her while Bunny tried to keep a smile and ignore all of the male patrons' pinning her legs and arms.

"That's thirteen drinks to one table." Blaze said in disgust. "How much booze can one lounge lizard hold?"

"Hey, pretty girl." A lizard hissed, his forked tongue going in and out of his mouth. "One more round, please. My buddies and I don't got all day."

"I'll handle this one, Blaze." Bunny groaned, tugging her uniform back into place after having it tugged on by drunks one too many times. "See if you can pick up any clues about the Sol Emeralds in the customers gossip."

Blaze picked up a tray with three martini glasses and took them over to a table where three familiar forms sat. Gritting her teeth in anger, the cat queen had to stop herself from attacking when she noticed the trio who had ambushed her in the first place.

"Wow, wow, we did a good job stopping that kitty cat from warning Sonic and his friends, huh huh?" The duck with the twitchy and spazzed-out look asked. "Miss Breezy's gonna pay us a whole ton of dough for everything we've done for her."

"That's all well and nice, Bean." The oversized polar bear declared as he first downed the martini and then ate the glass. "But what are we gonna do with all that dough? I don't wanna make bread." Blaze turned her real ears towards their conversation, grateful that the trio were too drunk to recognize her.

"Not that kind of dough, youz idiot." Nac snarled, downing another glass of booze. "We are getting a whole lot of mobiums for everything we did for that dane like gettin' the Sol Emeralds for her and tryin' to start that war between the tribes."

As soon as she heard that, Blaze turned to run back and tell Bunny the news. But as she tried to leave, Nac spoke up and started to cause trouble.

"Hey good lookin', where're you going in such a hurry." He reached out grabbing her behind. "Old Uncle Nac has a few mobiums with your name on them in exchange for a lap dance."

"MYROW!" Blaze screamed in fury turning back to face the weasel. Her eyes burned with a fiery rage. And her claws had flames shooting out of them. SWIPE SWIPE!

"AH, My face." SWIPE SWIPE! "Hey, that hurt." SWIPE SWIPE! "Oooh, sharp." The angry feline stormed off leaving a scorched and scratched trio behind her lying near unconscious in the booth.

"Nice special effects." Bean stated, before passing out.

* * *

Meanwhile on the casino floor, Bunny was already fiddling with the security controls that opened the locked door on the roof.

"Good luck, boys." She said under her breath as she threw the final switch. "I hope y'all get down here soon." Outside of the casino, Sonic and Knuckles saw the big bumper light near the sign light up.

"Hey, that's the signal." Sonic noted. "Let's get in there and help the girls." Knuckles nodded and the two of them jumped across the rooftop hitting the bumper and bouncing up to the roof of the casino. Going in the unlocked door, they ran down the stairs and found themselves in the casinos ventilation systems.

"Hey cool, this looks like the inside of a video game." Knuckles said seeing a bunch of spiked robots moving up and down in formation. "Getting through here should be a whole lot of fun."

"Those are probably the casino's security system." Sonic warned. "Just try to stay with me and don't get too cocky." The two began racing through the shaft jumping over the spiked platforms and smashing into the security robots, breaking them into tiny pieces. Energized rods fell from each one floating just above the floor where Sonic and Knuckles had destroyed them.

"Ooh, chaos drives." Knuckles exclaimed as he picked up several of the rods. "This is just what I needed."

"For what?" Sonic asked, tapping his foot impatiently.

"Oh, I'm raising a chao to be a good runner." Knuckles explained. "Gotta give Speedy a lot of the green chaos drives if I want him to be able to go fast."

"You know, why don't you just give him a bunch of mobini that we smash out of badniks?" Sonic asked scratching his head. "Those work much faster than raising their stats than chaos drives do."

"Are you kidding me? Giving them the animals makes the chao grow freaky animal parts." Knuckles replied with a look of disgust. "I don't want Speedy to have cheetah ears, a peacock's feathered tail, and seal flippers. Sounds like something that escaped from a genetics lab." Sonic stared at him.

"Sometimes Knuckles, you act even weirder than you look." He said. Resuming their journey upward, the two continued to smash robots and dodge traps. It wasn't long before they came to a large chamber filled with oriental music and strange dream like paintings on the wall.

"Whoa, what is this place?" Knuckles asked, looking around. "Looks like something out of an old Dreamcast game."

"I think we found our way into one of the casino's skill games." Sonic looked around. "I guess this is one of the kind where mobians serve as the ball."

"You got that right, intruders." A soft but commanding voice declared. "And you have no business being in one of the dreams I protect." Suddenly, an elf like figure with two purple horns flew down from the ceiling and floated in front of them.

"I don't know where you two came from but you are the freakiest nightmarens that Reala has sent in here." It stated.

"Sonic, who is this guy?" Knuckles asked. "He seems really familiar."

"I don't know, Knucklehead." Sonic replied, crunching down into a morphball but I think it's time we run. The two mobians shot away through the large pinball maze with the elf-like figure in hot pursuit. Up and down through the flippers and bumpers, the two raced, hitting the point bumpers and lighting them up.

"Sonic look, we scored over 10,000." Knuckles exclaimed unrolling from a ball and pointing up at the scoreboard.

"Not now, Knuckles." Sonic exclaimed, stopping and grabbing his arms. "We need to get out of here before…" The elf-like figure bumped into the two of them knocking them down the lost ball hole.

"Oh dear, you got rid of them before you could ask any questions." The elf-like figure sighed to himself. "Nights, you can be a real idiot sometimes."

As the two tumbled down the hole, they landed in a large room filled with security monitors and several robotic guards pointing guns at them.

"End of the road, you two. You've caused quite enough trouble in my casino." A voice called out. The two of them looked up and Sonic's eyes suddenly went wide. Green quills, heavy purple eyeliner, slinky red dress, there was only one hedgehog girl on all of Mobius who dress like that. And Sonic couldn't believe that he was seeing her again.

"He-hey, Breezy." Sonic waved nervously. "Long time, no see." Without a word, Breezy walked up to the surprised blue hedgehog leaped into the air and delivered a spinning roundhouse kick right into his skull. The blue blur was sent flying back into the opposite wall. The impression of a high-heeled shoe stuck on his forehead.

"Ow…" He groaned as he slide down the wall.

"Nice to see you, too." She answered.

"Sonic, what's going on here?" Knuckles asked. "Who is this?"

"The worst kind of monster in the universe." Sonic grumbled, rolling on the floor in pain. "Knuckles, meet my ex."


	10. Elemental, My Dear, Sonic Pt: 2

Elemental, My Dear, Sonic Pt: 2

"Keep marching you dumb, hedgehog." The big monkey in a monkey suit grunted. "Or I'll fill your furry guts full of lead."

"Hey, watch where you are pointing that thing, you big dumb ape." Knuckles snapped shoving the barrel of the blaster away from his head. "That thing could go off if you're not careful."

"Hey, you'z you callin' an ape, porcupine!" The thug snarled. "I'll have you know I'm a chimp on my mother's side."

"Simmer down, boys. We don't want to be rude to our guests." Breezy said softly as they all walked into her office. "Sonic, I'm so sorry my boys had to rough you and your friends up. Is there anything my assistant, Miss Possum can get you? Tea? Coffee?"

"Spare me the sarcasm, Breeze butt." The blue hedgehog growled, glaring angrily at her. "The only reason you haven't put a bullet in each of our heads already is because you think there's some way you can profit off of us."

"Oh please, Sonic. Don't flatter yourself." Breezy looked away waving a gloved hand, dismissively. "It won't look good if four freedom fighters came into my new Station Square casino and were never heard from again."

"Wait, four freedom fighters?" Sonic asked, trying to hide his surprise. "Honestly, I don't have any idea what you're talking about." Breezy merely smiled at Sonic's words and snapped her fingers. Two of the guards dragged Bunny and Blaze into the room still dressed into their rabbit suits and struggling against their restraints.

"Let me go, you ornery critter." Bunny snapped. "Sonic, I'm sorry. They jumped us when we were comin' out of the ladies budior."

"Don't tell them anything, Sonic." Blaze snapped struggling against her bonds. "Just make sure my peoples' treasure gets back to my tribe where it belongs."

"Oh my, Miss Blaze. Are you referring to these little beauties?" Breezy asked opening a small chest on her desk. Seven colored gemstones floated up out of the box, spinning in a multi-colored circle over their heads. "I really have to thank you and your tribe for this wonderful gift, Miss Blaze. Without its power, I would never be able to carry out some of my wildest dreams for business ventures."

"Breezy, listen to me. You need to give those emeralds back to Blaze." Sonic pleaded, hoping to reach the more sincere side of his ex-girlfriend. "The Sol Emeralds are far too powerful to be kept in the hands of anyone besides the tribes of Down Unda. You need to give them up before there's trouble."

"Oh please, Sonic. Why in the world would I listen to you?" Breezy snarled staring at him coldly. "I trusted you once before, Nicolas Parlouzer Hedgehog. What did sharing three months of my life with you get me?" She picked up a photograph of her and Sonic together off the desk and smashed it on the floor. "A broken heart, shattered into a million pieces."

"I'm sorry about that, Breezy. I was still hurting over Sally and my break-up." Sonic replied sadly. "I never should have given you the wrong idea about us."

"Nic… Parlouzer?" Knuckles suddenly grinned. He busted out laughing. "Your real name is Nicolas Parlouzer?"

"Oh, shut up Mister 'I don't have a name at all except for my tribe'." Sonic yelled back, still holding his hands up in the air. "At least, I have a real name."

"You're right. I have no identity." Knuckles replied, suddenly breaking down. "I don't have a name of my own. Who am I? WHO AM I!?"

"Will you two idiots shut up?" Breeze yelled, rubbing her temples. "Listening to you two is like watching one too many Saturday morning cartoons." At that moment, everyone present seemed to stare out into space for a moment as if looking at an audience that wasn't there.

"So, what are y'all gonna do with us?" Bunny asked glaring at the cyan hedgehog.

"Oh, I think I'll keep you four for a while. I'll put you and cat girl back out on the floor to work." She pointed a finger back to Sonic and Knuckles. "As for you, I need some muscle to load and unload the shipments we get here at the casino. And if one group thinks of escaping, the other group will pay dearly for their actions."

"So, you wish to turn us into exhibitionists?" Blaze said in disgust, her eyes glowing an unnatural red hue. "You will pay dearly for this insult to the queen of the cat tribe, hedgehog woman." Suddenly, a red glowing flame appeared behind Blaze and she burst free from her bindings. Without warning, she lunged at the nearest guard with flaming claws who didn't even have time to raise his gun.

"AH!" He screamed as he dropped from Blaze's deadly blow.

"BURNING YOUR WAY OUT OF THE ROPES! THAT'S USING YOUR FIRE POWER, BLAZE!" Sonic exclaimed as he head butted the guard behind him. "And this is using your head."

"You think you could keep the last echidna tied up?" Knuckles yelled jumping at the guard in front of him feet first. "My fists aren't my only weapon, punk." The guard barely had time to scream before the metal cleats on the top of Knuckles' shoes broke his jaw.

"Knuckles, I didn't know y'all were a fan of steel toes." Bunny exclaimed, jumping up. She grabbed a guard's head between her thighs and broke his neck.

"CAN'T YOU IDIOTS DO ANYTHING RIGHT!?" Breezy yelled slamming the lid on the chest and running out the office door. "Miss Possum, would you please deal with some unwelcome guests?"

"With pleasure, Miss Breezy." The blonde secretary in a black tail jacket and fish nets cracked her knuckles and walked in to the office angrily. "I'm sorry you four, but I'm going to have to ask the lot of you to leave the premises immediately."

"We don't have time for this." Sonic replied in annoyance. "Blaze, you come with me. Knuckles, you and Bunny deal with this outrageous opossum."

"You got it, Sonic." Knuckles replied as the cat and the hedgehog ran out the door. "End of the road, blondie. We're gonna clean your clock."

"Well, if that's the case, enchilada. Then, you'd better have brought a feather duster."

The echidna jumped at Miss Possum who immediately ducked his swinging punches. Jumping down low, she delivered a high heeled kick right into this jaw knocking him backwards. Leaping up into the air like a gazelle, she bicycle kicked him back into the wall.

"Wow, I see pretty stars." Knuckles declared sliding down the wall. "I need to come to this candy store more often."

"Sounds like I knocked your senses out of you, enchilada." Miss Possum snickered putting her stiletto on top of Knuckle's throat. "I guess you just don't have the strength to keep up with a working girl."

"No… But I do." Bunny leapt at the secretary hitting her with a clothesline that sent both of them tumbling to the ground. The two proceeded to roll around on the floor punching, kicking, and hair pulling as they knocked lamps and paperweights off the tables and desks.

"How pathetic." Miss Possum snapped trying to get an opening on the rabbit. "You fight like a boy."

"Well, I'd take that as a compliment from y'all." Bunny smirked. "Cause y'all fight like a yankee."

Leaping back to her feet, Miss Possum wrapped her tail around Bunny's leg and threw her against the wall. Jumping straight for her face with a closed fist, Miss Possum only found air when she tried to connect with her punch. Suddenly, a cybernetic hand closed around the back of her neck and the secretary found herself lifted into the air.

"Come on now, y'all didn't think y'all were gonna win this one." Bunny declared smugly, holding the possum girl up in mid-air. "Taking me out would have been mission impossum-able."

"That's what you think, hillbilly bunny." Miss Possum reached into her jacket and pulled out a small red button. "I think you'll really get a charge out of this." She pushed the button sending an electric shock through Bunny's cybernetic parts causing the rabbit to collapse, screaming in pain.

"What y'all do to me?" Bunny shrieked rolling around on the floor in agony.

"It's the casino's security systems. An electro-magnetic field that targets any computerized cheating devices gamblers might bring in with them." The possum smirked. "Unfortunately, it also targets the cybernetic parts of any half-robotisized mobian in the building."

"Why you ornery little rodent!" Bunny growled trying to get back up to her feet with no success. "I'm gonna kill y'all when I get outta here."

"That seems highly improbable, Miss Rabbot." The secetary chuckled standing up in front of the office window. "I'm afraid in your current situation, you have a date with destiny."

"AND YOU GOT A FLIGHT TO CATCH!" A loud male voice snapped as an echidna rushed forward slamming his fist right into the possum's face.

"AAAIIIIIIEEEE!" Miss Possum screamed as she was sent flying out the window, plunging downward and slamming into the bumper on the front of the casino. The two mobians remaining in the office watched her spinning and screaming form bounce upward and go flying off towards the horizon.

"Wow, do y'all think she'll survive that?" Bunny asked as she tumbled down towards the main highway of Station Square.

"Huh, no I guess not." Knuckles replied as a large eighteen wheeler with the letters G.U.N. on the side smashed into her before she hit the road. "I guess that's one more possum who tragically became roadkill."

"Ugh, I feel like I've been hit with a truck myself." Bunny declared, stumbling backwards and falling down. "I think her little gadget got me good."

"Just relax, Bunny. I'll take care of you." Knuckles put her arm around his head and started to help her out of the room. "It's all up to Sonic and Blaze now."

Meanwhile, the crowds in the casino turned away from their slot machines and poker tables to witness Breezy Hedgehog being chased through the game room floor by the famous hero Sonic and a strange lavender cat wearing head feathers.

"Hey, isn't that the cocktail bunny we saw earlier?" Bean asked coming to.

"Ah, shut up and go back to sleep, Beanbag." Nac declared punching the bird out before passing out himself.

Desperate to get away from her pursuers, Breezy climbed up the fire escape ladder on the wall and started to jump across the light fixtures on the ceiling towards the giant pirate ship decoration suspended in the middle of the grand ballroom.

"It's all over, Breezy." Sonic stated to her as he spindashed across the crystal chandeliers after his ex. "There is nowhere left to run."

"It's funny I should be the one running, Nicolas." Breezy remarked, finally stopping on the pirate ship deck. "You're the one who's more experienced running away like a coward."

"Enough talk, you fork tongued commoner." Blaze stated in a rage. "Give me back my birthright and I may spare your miserable peasant life." Blaze kneeled down and place her paws on the ground. Two red flames shot out of her front paws rocketing her upwards onto the deck of the ship.

"Well, well, well. It looks like it's two against one." The hedgehog said mockingly, opening up the small chest in her possession. "It looks like poor little old Breezy is gonna have to even up the odds."

"NO! BREEZY, DON'T!" Sonic warned rushing forward to stop her. "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT'LL HAPPEN!" It was too late. The emeralds seemed to dance in the air around the female hedgehog lifting her up above the pirate ship's deck. There was a great flash of light and Breezy's whole body was encased in a small storm cloud.

"Blaze, what's happening?" Sonic asked as wind seemed to pick up inside the casino. "What're the emeralds doing to her?"

"I don't know." Blaze declared, trying to hold on to the deck as well as holding on to Sonic. "The emeralds have never been used by someone not from Down Unda before." Lightning began to shoot and spark all over the casino, knocking out the power and sending all the customers fleeing outside in a terrified panic. Then, a loud bellowing laugh came from inside the small storm cloud.

"Mwahaha." A loud voice that sounded like Breezy's shouted. "You have angered your goddess, greatly. And now you must face the wrath of Broomhilda the Terrible." The cloud parted and Breezy now had platinum blonde hair, was dressed in a silver metal bikini and had a tiara with wings on the side adorning her head. The rays of the sun seemed to glow off her body and lightning crackled from her eyes as she landed back on the deck.

"Sonic, what just happened to her?" Blaze asked a look of dumbfounded terror on her face.

"Well… Breezy always did have a thing for Nordic mythology." Sonic answered, rolling his eyes.

"I am no longer concerned about poultry things like money. I know crave the worship of mortals." She raised her hand firing a lightning bolt down at the pirate ship decorations transforming it into a Viking longship. "Now, this vessel shall serve as my great sky chariot carrying my holy message."

"Blaze, how is she doing this?" Sonic asked in a panic.

"The Sol Emeralds turned your thoughts into power, just like the chaos emeralds do." She answered. "But only the royal cat and dog lines can handle the Sol Emerald's power. It's driven her completely insane." Just then, the boat rose skyward smashing through the skylight and taking off into the clouds over Station Square.

"Sonic, we only got one chance." Blaze told him. "You need to distract her while I go for the Sol Emeralds."

"I don't know if I can, but I'll see what I can do." Sonic stated, standing up on the deck. The blue blur turned to face the would-be goddess. "Hey, Breezy. You want to know why I dumped you?" he yelled up to her. "It's because you were so fat and ugly."

"WHAT!?" She yelled, floating down to where Sonic stood on the deck. "YOU DARE TO SPEAK TO YOUR GODDESS IN SUCH A MANNER!?"

"You're a lot of things, lady. Some I won't say in polite company." Sonic snapped at her. "But you sure aren't a goddess. When we were dating, I swear you had a shorter fuse than Bean's TNT."

"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SAY THAT!" Broomhilda bellowed. Lightning and winds blasting in Sonic's direction. "I DID EVERYTHING TO MAKE YOU HAPPY AND YOU STILL WALKED OUT ON ME!"

"So you hate me for walking out and leaving you alone? That I can understand." Sonic gave her a look of pity. "But all the ruthless and heartless things you've done since then? That guilt is yours and yours alone, Breezy."

"YOU… YOU…" The angry goddess screamed at him tears streaming down her face. "I SHOULD DESTROY YOU FOR- NOOOOO!" Broomhilda noticed the lavender cat touching the circling Sol Emeralds. But by the time she got up there, Blaze already harnessed their power. The feathers on her hair burned to life like a torch and her whole body glistened like the sun. Sol Blaze, then, leapt straight towards the crazed Valkyrie and there was a great explosion that completely destroyed the longship, sending Sonic tumbling downwards towards Station Square below.

"Whoa!" Sonic screamed as he tumbled downwards. Barely managing to catch the end of a skyscrapers radio antenna, he hung on as he watched the battle rage overhead. It was as if two great storm clouds were smashing into each other. Lightning flying in every direction, and mighty winds creating great tornados that never seemed to touch down.

"Whoa! It looks cooler than a fireworks festival." Sonic exclaimed jumping over to a nearby rooftop. "But I wonder if Blaze can really stop her." Finally, there were several smaller flashes of lightning followed by one great explosion in the sky. Everything quieted down after that and it wasn't long before the night sky was clear once more.

"Sonic, there you are." Knuckles exclaimed as he saw the hedgehog coming out of the casino. "Glad you're all right, but where the heck is Blaze?"

"I don't know. But I think she won the battle." Sonic replied looking up at the night sky. "Otherwise, we'd all be suffering the wrath of an angry goddess right now."

"Well, if the whole thing is ova. I'd sure love to head back to Knothole now." Bunny answered. "I would sure love to catch forty winks right now."

It turned out Sonic was right. Miss Possum soon turned up alive and had taken over control of Breezy's casinos. A certain female cyan colored hedgehog turned up in West Side Island's Home for the Criminally Unsound spending her days dressed in a straight jacket and mumbling to herself about being a goddess and calling everyone her loyal worshippers.

Sonic never got a thank you directly from Blaze herself, but he did find it odd that Soleanna and Knothole enjoyed nice weather throughout the rest of the Summer...


	11. The Mystic Ruins

The Mystic Ruins

Knuckles arrived at the Mystic Ruins, it was an overcast day. He looked around the ruins and was surprised at the state of the ruins.

"I don't remember this place." He said. "But I think during the Great War, there was a city here. I wonder why it's this way." Then, he looked around. "Why am I getting the feeling I'm being watched and followed?" He continued to look for the shards as he was passing many pools of water that were on the city streets. He looked down on a pool of water and saw a pale echidna face in the water for a second before it vanished. "The more I'm in here, the more this place is starting to give me the creeps." He went up to the temple and he heard the sound of rushing water. "How is that possible?"

He went down into the temple and explored the area. He went down in and found an area that was partially covered in water. He looked over onto the water.

"What?!" He shouted as he saw pale echidnas's shapes moving in the water. Their eyes were wide open, completely glassy, black, empty, and staring towards him. He took a step into the water, one of the shapes swam to that foot. Knuckles took his foot out of the water and the shape wasn't able to follow. "I think I want to keep out of the water, if possible." He looked up and he spotted a master emerald shard on a higher ledge. "Now, how am I going to get up there?"

He noticed a button; after pushing it, he saw some panels on the wall slide and light up with arrows. Knuckles threw a rock onto the panel and it stuck. He ran over leaping over the water and landed on the panel. One of the shapes grabbed a dread that was touching the surface. He grabbed onto the panel and was able to pull himself out of the water. He ran up the wall and leapt onto the ledge and got the emerald shard. He leapt back down onto the sand below.

 _"I remember there might be another shard somewhere."_ He thought. _"But where?"_ He continued to look around and sensed one beneath the sand. He dug and discovered an emerald shard in the sand. _"Well, that was easy."_ Then, he heard some groaning coming from the other room. _"What in the world?"_ He went into the other room. "AHH!"

He saw the shapes standing upright over top the water. Their mouths were hanging open and water poured from that spot. Some were gasping and others were hyperventilating.

"You escaped." One of them whispered.

"Escaped from what?" Knuckles replied to them in fear.

"We can't let it happen." Another stated as they began to stumble towards him.

"Join us. Join us. Join us." A third began to chant. And others began to recite that phrase as well.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" He shouted. He found a brick laying on the ground and through it at them. It passed right through them. "That's it. I'm outta here."

He dashed out of the temple as fast as he could. He noticed that there were those phantoms all over the place. "Looks like I need to fight my way out. Hmm?" He noticed that some of the phantoms were focused on a particular mobian. Knuckles ran in that direction.

He spotted those phantoms shoving another mobian's head into the water. She was struggling to break free from their grip. He charged over there and pulled her out of the water as she gasped for air. The phantoms pursued him but was able to escape to another part of the ruins.

"Thank you." She stated, dazed, coughing up the water. She looked at him although her vision was a little blurry.

"Shade?" Knuckles asked.

"That voice…" She answered as her vision was clearing. "You're Knuckles. What are you doing here?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing." He replied. "What are these things anyway?"

"I believe these are angry spirits of echidnas that once lived here." Shade stated. "And from what I have seen, it appears they have drown in some sort of violent manner."

"But what could have caused them to manifest?" Knuckles asked.

"I believe you are holding the answer." Shade commented pointing to the master emerald shards.

"But if I'm holding the shards, why are they after you?" He asked in return.

"I just happen to have these on me." Shade answered, pulling out two chaos emeralds.

"Chaos emeralds!" He shouted. Then, a phantom got close to them. Knuckles shoved the master emerald shard at the phantom. It went poof. "I think we have our way out. Let's hold the gems in our hands and punch our way out."

"I don't think that is the most scientific way to deal with a ghost but nothing else seems viable." Percy answered. Knuckles took some rope and tied the shards to his hands and tied the chaos emeralds to Shade's hands. Together, they ran out of the ruins. As phantoms tried to attack them, the duo punched at them causing the ghosts to dissipate. As they escaped, they arrived at a large pond with large lily pads in it, somewhere in the jungle.

"I think we can rest now." Knuckles stated.

"I would prefer to keep going." Percy replied. But then, they heard both of their stomachs growling.

"Ugh… looks like we're both going to have to stop for a bite to eat." Knuckles answered.

The two sat by a small fire as they were chowing down on some cooked fish. They were silent for a moment.

"You know, I assumed there were other echidnas." Knuckles replied. "But this is the first time, I actually got to sit down and talk to one."

"Oh, really?" She asked. "Aren't you from another clan?"

"As far as I know from Athair said, I came from the Knuckles clan." The red echidna explained. "But I don't know anything about them nor what happened to them."

"Really?" Shade asked in shock. "How did you survive?"

"Survive what?" Knuckles asked.

"From what I heard the entire Knuckles clan was wiped out by a flash flood." Shade stated. "How did you manage to survive when no one else did?"

"I guess that explains why the ghosts look the way they did." Knuckles continued starting to calm down. "You know anything else about my clan?"

"Not really." She stated. "All I know is that the Knuckles clan was a warrior clan that was pescetarian for some reason."

"Is that all?" Knuckles asked.

"If there was one thing about your clan's warriors is that they are, in comparison to other echidna warriors, considered the 'holy warriors' of echidnas chosen by a shaman or guardian of the master emerald like Tikal."

"Wait, what!?" Knuckles asked. "Tikal is a guardian of the Master Emerald too!?"

"As far as I heard." Percy answered. "I've never heard much about the Knuckles clan or any other echidna clan for that matter."

"How come?" Knuckles asked.

"My clan was sealed in the Void when I and my sister were little girls." Percy said. "All we knew was about the Nocturnus Clan, but the generation that grew up in that place learned nothing about the world in the outside. When Imperator Ix wanted a band of echidnas to scout the outside world, the two of us volunteered to go, out of curiosity. She and I have learned so much in such a short time span." She smiled. "And I'm glad I actually got to meet you, Knuckles. Even if you are a rival of mine." Then, the two of them laughed, it was short-lived.

"There you are." A voice called out. The two echidnas turned around and saw a floating figure in a purple robe.

"Imperator, what are you doing here?" Percy asked him.

"I have come to pick up the emeralds." He had stated as he used his magic to pick the two up.

"What I recognize you, you are that villain that Sonic and Tails were telling me about." Knuckles stated.

"Villain?" Shade stated in confusion.

"A villain you say? No…" Ix stated back. "I am not the villain here. I am a hero among echidnas for I shall bring forth greatness to the world of the Nocturnus. And I will invite you, the mighty Knuckles to join us on our campaign."

"I have to refuse." Knuckles stated.

"What!?" The Imperator asked.

"I fell for that twice with Eggman. I'm not going to fall for it a third time." He stated.

"How can you refuse such a generous offer? I ask you to prostrate before me and you can be one of us."

"You are claiming to be a god." Knuckles stated. "That's completely idiotic."

"So, you ridicule me? I have the great power as a sorcerer, I have the obedience of the Nocturnus Clan, and I have the obedience of Chaos." Ix stated. "You will follow me or be struck down, and the whole world will follow me under supreme reign."

"You only said that you were going to free the Nocturnus Clan from the Void." Percy Shade shouted. "You didn't say anything about global conquest. I'm not going to obey a mad mobian like yourself."

"YOU DARE DEFY THE WILL OF YOUR LORD AND MASTER?!" Imperator Ix shouted. "Come Chaos." Then, Chaos appeared before them. "These are for you, my friend." Ix gave him the emeralds. Chaos transformed into a very large fish with arms and the mouth of a barracuda. "You are foolish try and stop me; you have no chance to beat me for I… AM… A… GAAAAWW!" Knuckles punched him in the face.

"Will you shut up?" He asked.

"HOW DARE YOU DESECRATE MY FACE WITH YOUR PROFANE FIST!" Ix barked. "CHAOS, DESTROY THEM!" Imperator Ix blasted the two echidnas into the lake with lily pads. Chaos leapt into the water and swam around them. It tried to speed by them, Percy was able to land a hit on him. It twirled around due to the punch. It turned around and slashed its fin releasing an energy wave. Knuckles glided over and slammed on the beast as it was above water. It roared and went back into the pond. The red echidna got back to the lily pad, Percy was on.

"You think we beat it?" He asked.

"I doubt it." Percy stated. Then, she saw some movement in the water. "KNUCKLES, MOVE!" She picked up Knuckles and threw him to another lily pad. Chaos grabbed Percy's legs with its mouth and dragged her underwater. She tried to struggle as Chaos slammed her against the ground and rocks causing her to bleed. The beast flung her up in the air and Knuckles tried gliding to catch her.

"SHADE!" He shouted. The flung echidna gazed upon him.

"Knuckles…" she answered. Then, Chaos leapt out of the water. Knuckles heard loud cracks as Shade was engulfed in Chaos' mouth, Percy was crushed by his powerful jaws. A gulp followed the crunching. The red echidna became enraged.

"YOU… FISH FACE! HOW DARE YOU BRING AN END TO SOMEONE'S LIFE! I'M TAKING YOU DOWN!" Knuckles roared. Chaos screeched back at him and sent a powerful splash knocking the nearby lily pads underwater. He leapt up into the air and glided to another lily pad dodging the gapping mouth of the monster. He slammed his fist on the creature's face as it landed.

"I WAS STARTING TO GET TO KNOW HER, AND YOU DECIDED TO KILL HER!" He yelled as Chaos sent out a laser beam from his mouth towards the echidna. He dodged out of the way and grabbed a boulder off the shore and threw it at him. The boulder struck him in the head. The monster lunged at him.

Knuckles sidestepped and grabbed Chaos's jaw and ripped it off; he speared the joint ends right into its eyes. The beast shrieked in pain; Knuckles grabbed the monster's tail, picked it up using immense strength and slammed him into the ground. Before the creature blacked out, it coughed up Percy's helmet all banged up and covered with goo.

"So, I see you are truly a mighty warrior." Ix stated. "Had the Knuckles clan survived, you might have been their greatest champion."

"ENOUGH WITH THE FLATTERY, IMPERATOR IX!" Knuckles turned around, shouting. "YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A COWARD FOR NOT FIGHTING YOUR OWN BATTLES!" He charged towards Ix, but the echidna used magic to shield himself. He pushed the echidna away.

"You might be mighty, but I am a deity who is even mightier." Ix replied. "And as you saw, Chaos has yet to be perfected and his most powerful attack has begun to appear." He withdrew Chaos into the glass jar. "You shall see me with all the world's splendor and glory after they all kneel from submission, and ALL YOU NON-BELIEVERS WILL BE SLAIN BY CHAOS!"

Knuckles roared and thrown more punches towards the crazed echidna. But the Imperator blocked again with his magic.

"Until we meet again, Infidel." Imperator IX stated. "Farewell. For the next time we meet, you will die along with your friends." The third time that Knuckles charged towards him, Ix had teleported away.

"DAMN!" Knuckles stated. Then, he sighed turning to the banged up helmet. He cleaned up the helmet and picked up the two shards of the master emerald. "I don't know what it was about Chaos and all what I have learned today. The only way I can find out is to find Tikal once again and tell me everything."

* * *

When he arrived back in Soleanna, he came to the Memorial Tree. A tree that was planted to replace the earlier one which was destroyed. There were relics of departed mobians around on the area on small rocks. He had knelt down to the roots and gently laid Percy's helmet at the base of the tree. Knuckles turned around and headed back to the headquarters, not looking back at the sad scene.


	12. Fall of the Knuckles

Fall of the Knuckles

Everyone was gathering in the library at Sally's villa in the middle of the night; all of Team Sonic, Team Chaotix, and even Princess Sally herself came to see.

"So, who gathered this meeting?" Sally asked.

"Tikal did." Marine replied.

"I've never met her." Sally replied.

"She's been here the whole time since the Chaotix came in here." Marine said.

"This is the first time I've heard of her." Mighty stated.

"I've never seen her either." Vector replied.

"Are you guys callin' me crazy!?" Marine yelled.

"No, I've seen her." Espio commented.

"We've seen her as well." Cosmo pointed out. Then, Sonic looked around.

"Has anyone seen Amy?" He asked. "She was called too." At that moment, Amy came into the room. She was breathing slightly heavier and her eyes were a shade of deep blue. "Now, that you're here we can finally wait for Tikal to show up."

"That won't be necessary." Amy stated, both her voice and Tikal's voice was coming out of her mouth. "She's already here."

"I don't get it." Sonic said. "What do you mean she's already here; I can only see one of you."

"I know that some of who I called are unable to see me." Tikal answered. "Thus I needed to borrow someone that everyone can see."

"Amy's possessed right now?" Sonic asked. "By Tikal!? So, that must mean…"

"I'm just a phantom of who I once was." She continued.

"Well, that explains a lot." Bunny replied.

"You never told me you were dead." Marine answered in shock.

"I thought you would have figured it out." Tikal answered. "But I remember that some mobians can see me while others can't. It is not a sign of being pure-hearted or not, it is just how it works."

"But why are you still here?" Sonic asked. "Why aren't you, well, you know…"

"The memories that surround my demise bring me massive amounts of pain." She stated. "It is time for me to show what I know to you all; so you may be aided on bringing Chaos back."

"What do you mean bring 'Chaos' back?" Knuckles asked. "He hasn't been a good mutant chao thing."

"I have known another side of him." She stated. Amy raised her hands into the air and white spheres came from the hands surrounding all of them. "I must reveal the past to you all." Then, the entire group was engulfed in light.

The group reappeared in a great city made of stone. There were many painted mobians around them.

"What is this place?" Knuckles asked. "This is? What I think this is?"

"This is the great city of the Knuckles clan." Amy stated. "But its name, only known to its people, will be forever lost." She raised her hand and she is pointing towards the door to the city. The party noticed that Tikal was over there with her father, Pachacamac, and four guards.

"Can't you just listen to me, father?" Tikal asked.

"Tikal, we are in the middle of a war." Pachacamac replied. "We have no time for such silly matters."

"You can't just raid the Shrine of Chaos. There are many chao and their guardian, Chaos, lives there. You need to ask him for help." Tikal explained.

"I don't want to hear any of your superstitions. If he was real, why doesn't he just come to this city and speak for himself? We will do whatever it takes to win this war against the Nocturnus clan. Now, leave at once."

"But father…"

"I said… LEAVE AT ONCE!" He shouted. Then, Tikal left.

"Of course, I heard from my father that Pachacamac was the most skeptical out of the coalition leaders." Sally stated. "But I didn't think he was that skeptical."

"He completely denied the existence of the chao." Amy said. "We need to follow Tikal."

"Amy…" Sonic said.

"Don't worry, no one can see us." She stated. The party headed down the road following Tikal until they arrived at the Shrine of Chaos. The shrine itself had seven pillars around the center, each one having a chaos emerald on top of each one and in the center was the master emerald sitting on its pedestal.

"You know for certain what that is Knuckles." Amy said.

"That's the master emerald." Knuckles replied. "And the seven chaos emeralds." The group also noticed that there were several chao dancing nearby as well. Tikal was coming up and they greeted her.

"I need to speak with Chaos." Tikal stated. "This is urgent." There was the sound of a dripping water and Chaos arose from the pool. The chao didn't move his mouth, but spoke telepathically to her.

"Dear Tikal," Chaos said. "What has troubled you greatly?"

"It's my father." Tikal answered. "He plans to take the emeralds from the temple, even though it was my mother's gift to you for saving our city from raging waters."

"I know that a gift can never be ungiven." Chaos stated to her.

"What are we to do?" Tikal asked. "He demands that you are to speak to him in person."

"Does he not realize that I am unable to speak when I'm away from the master emerald?" Chaos asked in reply. "He has to come, if he wishes to speak to me."

"That's what I am trying to tell him, but he refuses to listen to a word I say to him." Tikal replied to the chao. There was a short pause before Chaos spoke to her again.

"Tomorrow you shall say this to him, 'Chaos is willing to speak to you, please come to the shrine alone and we can negotiate on the situation.'" The chao said.

"My father is very antsy for the Nocturnus clan is approaching our borders and has beaten our patrols." Tikal stated.

"You know, how powerful I am." Chaos stated, but he also placed his hand on the little chao's head. "Yet how gentle I can be as well. I can easily beat the invading Nocturnus clan, but are you going to trust me?"

"I trust you, Chaos." Tikal said. "I only hope that my father will trust you as well."

"Tomorrow, we both will find out." He answered. "For now, you may go."

"Thank you." She said, heading away from the shrine.

The group shifted away from the shrine and into the city once again. It was just after sunset, an echidna soldier came running into the palace calling out.

"Lord Pachacamac!" he shouted. The chief was standing there.

"What is it, soldier?" He asked.

"The Nocturnus Clan's forces had penetrated our borders." The soldier answered. "They are marching towards the city."

"How much time do we have left to prepare?" The chief asked him.

"From the rate they are moving, it looks like they may arrive with the morning sun." the soldier said. The chief growled at him.

"What kind of fool does my daughter think I am?" Pachacamac stated. "I have evidence right here of an attacking force, and my daughter gives me some fairy tale about a mystical super being of power." He became angrier. "Soldier, get your men! We march towards the Shrine and take the chaos emeralds to use against the invaders!"

"But what if there are chao?" the soldier asked.

"There are… no… chao!" He stated. "We shall raze the shrine to the ground. Crush anyone who gets in our way."

"As you wish." The soldier stated. The group watched as the echidna troops prepared their armor, their weapons, and their war machines. They had marched to the shrine. Just as they reached the shrine, they were intercepted by Tikal.

"Tikal, Move Out of The Way!" Pachacamac stated.

"No, I won't let you do this!" Tikal said.

"TIKAL, THIS IS AN EMERGENCY! WE NEED THOSE CHAOS EMERALDS NOW!"

"Please father, you have to reconsider your actions."

"I'VE HEARD ENOUGH FROM YOU!" Pachacamac replied as he slapped her on the face, knocking her to the ground. "HOLD HER DOWN!" Two of the guards placed restraints on her.

"DON'T DO THIS FATHER!" Tikal screamed.

"OPEN FIRE!" The chief roared, ignoring his daughter. Then, the fire throwers had set the shrine aflame. "Oh Chaos, if you're around, Stop the Fire!" But there was no response from Chaos. Then, the chief turned to Tikal. "I'm right, Chaos is nothing but a myth."

"YOU'RE MAKING THE BIGGEST MISTAKE OF YOUR LIFE!" Tikal stated. Pachacamc looked away from her.

"CHARGE!" He roared. The soldiers that were there rushed head long into the shrine. Any chao that were in the way were trampled and slaughtered. The agonizing screams of the chao echoed across the area and their blood was dripping into the water.

"In the chao garden, they are invincible. But they outside it, they are vulnerable." Amy stated. "Should one die, that's the end of their existence: the cost of worldly immortality."

"I trusted you." A voice stated softly to Pachacamac; the chief just ignored it. "It was your clan, who allowed me to live at the shrine. It was your clan that had trusted me with your most precious treasure. It was your clan that I had learn to trust and love. And you betrayed me." The chaos emeralds rumbled on their pillars. Chaos rose at the master emerald and the emeralds merged with him. "Die."

Then, the clouds gathered together swiftly; thunder and lightning that filled the sky. Winds swept across the entire area of the shrine. A mighty and terrifying roar blasted throughout the area. The echidna soldiers stopped in their tracks.

"FATHER, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?" Tikal shouted at him looking about ready to cry, a tear rolling down her face.

"What is that thing?" one of them stated. They saw Perfect Chaos rising up in anger from the pool. Four tentacles slammed on the ground towards them, killing off any echidnas who hit them. They all began to retreat.

"DAMN YOUR SOULS, YOU COWARDS!" Pachacamac shouted at them. "HEAD BACK THIS INSTINT AND FIGHT! ANY WHO LEAVES WILL BE CUT DOWN!" The frightened warriors ignored him. A mighty beam from Chaos' mouth vaporized the echidnas. A few blasts had struck all of the chief's forces down and destroyed the chief as well. Tikal was barely able to get out of the way of the blasts and she was able to break free from her bindings. Thunder rumbled and Chaos let out a loud agonizing scream of anger and sorrow.

"CHAOS, PLEASE STOP!" Tikal pleaded loudly, trying to reach the chao. But Perfect Chaos completely ignored her as he turned to the great echidna city in rage.

Hail slammed down onto the city's buildings; lightning set others ablaze; wind knocked many structures over. Many echidnas checked what was outside.

"IT'S A MONSTER!" One echidna shouted. "RUN FOR IT!" Panic and terror filled the hearts of many echidnas whom ran for their lives at the sight of the beast. Anarchy filled the streets. Chaos used lightning and hail to strike down some of the fleeing echidnas. Some echidnas were accidentally trampled to death from the stampede.

Upon seeing the echidnas heading to the dock, Chaos created a water spout to destroy the boats that would offer escape. Then, a giant tidal wave from the sea came over the city. Every echidna tried to run away, but they couldn't escape the charging waters. The wave crushed some of them from the water pressure, while others had drown from the water. Every last man, woman, and child's life was sweep away from the flood.

"This is horrible." Tikal stated to herself. "If he continues like this, the whole world could be in peril." She stood up from where she was. "I have no choice now." She put her hands together. "Forgive me, Chaos."

Tears came down from her eyes as she unleashed powerful magic from her hands. Chaos pulled backwards to the shrine. He was separated from the chaos emeralds and he was sealed away into the master emerald. The seven chaos emeralds were scattered across Mobius using her magic. Tikal fell down from her weakness. She looked up to the sky on her back as the storm surge had deceased in power until the sky was once again clear. She saw the full moon and stars in the sky.

"I just wish things didn't have to end this way." Tikal stated as she closed her eyes and breathed her last as a flock of ravens flew over the city, arriving for the harvest of the entire clan who recently perished from the wrath of nature's waters.

The entire group was engulfed in light once again; this time everyone returned to the library. Tails uncovered his ears and eyes.

"Is the storm over?" He asked.

"Yeah, it's over." Knuckles stated. They saw Amy laying on the ground and Sonic picked her up.

"Amy…" Sonic said. Amy opened her eyes and the blue blur noticed her eyes were green again.

"Huh?" She asked. "What am I doing here?"

"You must stop Imperator Ix before he acquires the other three emeralds." Everyone heard Tikal say. "If Chaos becomes Perfect Chaos, the world will once again be in jeopardy."

"I thought the guy was a nutcase," Knuckles stated. "But I didn't think he was that insane." Then, the party heard a knock at the door. "Who could that be?" The red echidna went over to the door. He opened it up. "Shade!? What are you doing here!? How did you survive!?"

"I have come on my own accord." Shade stated. "I am Stacy Shade, the sister of Percy. I have heard what Imperator Ix is planning on doing and what he has done to my sister. Thus I have come to offer you a truce and I wish to join your crusade against him."

"But what will your sister think about it?" Knuckles asked.

"I believe this what she would have wanted me to do." Stacy commented. Knuckles looked back at the rest of the party. Sonic and Sally nodded their heads.

"Come in, then." Knuckles answered. "There is room for one more."


	13. X Marks the Spot: Pt 1

X Marks the Spot: Pt 1

"But Grandpa, I don't want to just celebrate my birthday with you Mister Tanaka and Ella." The brown haired kid in front of him whined. "I want to spend my birthday with my friends and mom & dad."

"Now, Chris. You know your parents are far too busy to be here with you on your birthday." The elderly scientist explained. "Your mom has a movie to film in Spagonia and your father is on a good will tour in Chun-nin. Just be glad that the servants and I can be here for you."

"Master Chris. If there is anything we can get for you on your birthday, please let Ella and I know." Mr. Tanaka exclaimed bowing low before his young master. "Money is not an object for the Thorndick family, so please let us know what it is that you desire."

"Jaa, Master Chris. We vill get you anything that you vant." The massive sized cook declared, joyfully as the doorbell rang. "Oh my… I zink our new neighbors might be stopping over to pay us a visit. I vonder what they could want."

"Master Chris, I've heard that our new neighbors are mobians." Mr. Tanaka replied as Ella went to answer the door. "I wonder if they could have been invited over here by a certain rotund cook who wanted to cheer you up."

"Why hello there, neighbors." Ella declared opening up the door. "Please won't you come in?"

"Hello, Miss Ella." A sugary adorable voice squeaked as a cute little rabbit girl came skipping into the room. "Hi, Chris. My name is Cream and this is my friend, Cheese. We're here to wish you a happy birthday."

"Chao, chao." Cheese declared in an agreement.

"Hello, Mr. Tanaka." A mature and lady-like voice said as a mobian woman nearly the size of a human being stepped through the doorway. "I saw you out watering the flowers the other day and I'm very pleased to have the chance to meet you in person." She curtseyed to him. "My name is Vanilla Rabbot; my daughter and I just moved to Station Square."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Vanilla." The butler bowed politely hiding the red on his cheeks. "Please, if there is anything I can do for you or your daughter, do not hesitate to let me know."

"Here you go, Chris." Cream exclaimed, handing the boy a circle of flowers. "This is a flower crown I made just for you."

"I don't want your stupid flower crown!" The boy angrily snapped at the surprised little girl, grabbing and tearing the flower crown in half and throwing it her feet. "I don't want you here and I don't want you cheering me up!"

"But… but I…" Cream exclaimed, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I DON'T WANT GUESTS!" Chris screamed, falling back on the couch, flailing his arms and legs like a spoiled baby. "I WANT MOM AND DAD! I WANT MY FRIENDS FOR A BIRTHDAY PARTY!"

"Wow, it sounds like the baby needs a nap." Vanilla declared, raising an eye brow at the boy who was a year older than her well-behaved daughter asking like he was two. "Perhaps, Cream and I should come back later."

"Nono, Miss Vanilla, please. Come into the kitchen and a cup of coffee with Ella and I." Mr Tanaka pleaded trying to save face after his young charge acted so terribly. "I'm sure the boy's grandfather and young Miss Cream can calm Master Chris down."

"Of course, dear Mister Tanaka." Vanilla replied, looking over at Chris in disgust. "I just hope that your coffee milk isn't as spoiled as everything else in this house seemed to be."

"CHRIS! WE HAVE GUESTS, PLEASE STOP BEHAVING LIKE A CRYBABY!" Grandpa yelled at him. "NOW, MAN UP AND STOP BEHAVING LIKE YOU NEED YOUR DIAPER CHANGED!"

"Please don't cry, Chris. I have an idea that might make you happy." Cream spoke up, finally thinking of something. "My mom and I know Mister Sonic the Hedgehog. Maybe we could have him come here for your birthday and cheer you up."

"Wait… did you say Sonic the Hedgehog?" Chris's ears suddenly perked up as he stopped crying. "The famous hero of West Side Island? Yeah, I want you to bring him here for my birthday."

"But Chris, Sonic is a very busy man." Dr. Thorndike tried to reason with his grandson. "I don't think he could come here on such short notice. Maybe –"

"I want Sonic. I want Sonic. I want Sonic…" Chris stated falling back, kicking and screaming again. "And I'm gonna hold my breath until you make him come."

"Oh dear, you'd better do something to get Sonic here as soon as possible." Dr. Thorndike pleaded to Cream. "I remember the last time Chris held his breath like this, I had a tall smurf for a grandson. I don't want him to turn green afterwards."

"Okay Dr. Thorndike, I'll try to get Mr. Sonic over here." A bewildered Cream stated staring at her so-called new friend in disbelief. "But I'm thinking I should get Chris a pacifier or a bottle first."

* * *

Far outside of Station Square, on the coast nearest to where the Thorndike mansion was located, a tall missile solo was sticking out of the ground sideways. It had been one of the giant warheads launched by Julian during his final doomsday campaign against GUN. The warhead had fallen onto the beach and simply been forgotten about during the cleanup afterwards. By the time anyone gave it much thought, the tower had become something of a popular local landmark the citizens of Station Square didn't want to see removed.

No one ever went near the small beach where the warhead stood sticking out, out of fear that it might still go off if triggered by any kind of nearby motion. However, that did not stop a certain portly scientist who was well aware of the warhead's existence to fly in his Egg Mobile to a small door on the side; walking into the long and winding tunnels leading up to the warhead's command tower.

"I can't believe the United Federation just left this thing here to stick out of the sand." Eggman chuckled as he sat down in the command chair of the warhead's bridge. Each one of these missile ships that Uncle Julian launched was like a small warship of its own, piloted by a robot crew who would kamikaze run the vessel into its intended target. Eggman stroked his mustache thoughtfully. "I wonder if any of the crew managed to survive."

It was at that moment that a door going down to the cargo bay, slowly opened and two pairs of eyes stared out of the darkness at Eggman. The scientist pretended not to notice at first, but quickly got bored with the charade.

"You two bots can come out now." Eggman ordered. "Dr. Ivo Robotnik commands it."

"Dr. Robotnik." One of the robots said pushing the door open. As they stepped out into the light, Eggman could see that they were a pair of pilot bots. One with a tall circular head, and one with a short round head. "We've been awaiting farther orders, doctor. But this is the first time, we've had any contact with command."

"State your designations."

"This unit is designated as Alpha-kuanto, shortened designation A-ko." The first robot answered. "My partner is designated as Beta-kuanto, shortened designation B-ko."

"Well then, A-ko and B-ko. I am now called Dr. Eggman." Ivo answered. "And I am your new master. I have come here to Station Square to get some vacation time away from that annoying hedgehog. Will you show me around this containment module?"

"As you wish, Doctor Eggman." The second robot declared. "I will tell you we have a spacy cargo area, our late captain's person quarters, a ping pong table, an arcade, and even a chao garden."

"Good greif. So that's where my uncle's extra defense spending went." Eggman shook his head in disbelief. "Oh well, maybe I should head down and see if I can hatch myself a new speed type."

* * *

Even as Eggman was settling into his vacation cabana, a speedy hedgehog and his three companions were chasing a fleeing chao across the sky over the Great Mobian Sea.

"Faster Tails, faster." Sonic yelled, pointing a finger at the dark type chao ahead of them as he stood on the wings. "Or he is going to get away."

"I'm doing the best I can, Sonic." Tails complained. "I'd be able to go faster if Amy hadn't insisted on coming along and adding a ton of extra weight."

"ARE YOU SAYING I'M FAT!?" Amy yelled slamming her fist on the plane's metal exterior. "YOU'RE REALLY LUCKY I CAN'T GET TO MY PIKO PIKO FROM HERE, PROWER!"

"Would you two shut up and quit your whining?" Knuckles snapped sitting sideways between the two. "I can't read my Captain Rescue comic book with all of your whining."

"Would you guys please focus at the task at hand?" Sonic asked all three of them, before looking back at their target. "Give it up, Bonta-kun. There is no way you can outrun the Tornado."

"You big jerks… I can't believe your being so mean to me." The chao answered, tears streaming down his eyes. "I'll never tell you where Eggman-sama is, not in a million years. Sonic no baka."

"Well then, we'll just have to MAKE you tell us." Knuckles proclaimed, reaching over Tails' shoulder and pressing a red button on the console. "FIRE ONE!"

"KNUCKLES, NO!" Tails screamed. "YOU COULD KILL HIM!" A missile had fired already.

"AHH!" The blast hit Bonta-kun dead center exploding in mid-air. The screaming chao was sent into a tail spin, his smoking hind quarters leaving a trail as he spiraled downwards.

"Ouch. Good thing he's an immortal chao." Amy said, painfully, looking at the flaming mess. "But it's still really painful what you can live through." Suddenly, the Tornado's engines began to sputter and knock informing the four passengers that they were running low on fuel.

"Uh oh, that sounds like trouble." Knuckles muttered, nervously. "We better make for the nearest town before we run out of gas and all end up at the bottom of the ocean."

"What do you mean, we Knucklehead." Tails exclaimed pointing back to his two tails. "I hope growing gills is one of your echidna powers."

"Tails, stop teasing him. This is serious." Sonic replied. "What's the nearest town or city on the radar?"

"Station Square: Nice beach resort, mixed mobian and human population." Tails suddenly shivered. "Oh yeah, and my stalker crush lives there."

"Well, at least yours lives far away." Sonic said, looking down at the pink hedgehog in the passenger's seat. "But Knuckles and I were at Station Square on vacation a few months back. I think we know our way around there pretty well."

"Well then, we can stop off there for fuel and repairs." Tails answered. "Besides unless I run into Dreamy Creamy, I won't have any problems."

"Oh wow, a stay at the beach." Amy replied, grinning at the thought of getting to wear her new swimsuit. "What could possibly go wrong?"


	14. X Marks the Spot: Pt 2

X Marks the Spot: Pt 2

The plane came in for a landing at a small air strip near the Emerald Coast. The Tornado pulled forward until the catch rope on the runway snagged its wheels bringing the plane to a slow stop. The four mobians hopped out of the aircraft and slowly took in their surroundings.

"Wow. That jungle looks really neat." Amy exclaimed. "I'd love to go and explore the place."

"Well, it looks like nobody's disturbed my workshop since we were last here." Tails replied. "I'll see if I can get this thing refueled."

"But Tails, you still need to make some repairs to the wing." Knuckles pointed out running his hand along the dented lower wingspan. "It's gonna take some time to get this thing fixed."

"Sounds like a job for you two big and strong boys." Amy commented, fluttering her eyelashes. "Sonic, would you be a dear and run into town to pick us up some refreshments?"

"Huh, I hope Station Square has a chili dog stand open at this hour." Sonic shrugged, springing onto the railroad tracks and racing on down the line. "Up over and gone." As the blue blur disappeared from sight, Amy looked up into the clouds above them.

"Hey, that's strange I've never seen a cloud bank that looks like a giant rock before." Amy said, her eyes going wide. "In fact, I don't think that's a cloud at all."

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Knuckles replied, looking up. "Oh, that's just Angel Island."

"WHAT!? Knuckles, what the heck is Angel Island doing here?" Tails fluttered in a panic, looking up at the giant land mass almost over their heads. "And how is the island in the air if the master emerald is broken?"

"Huh? Oh… That's just the backup generators. They kick in whenever the emerald is removed or destroyed." Knuckles replied. "The island probably floated back up when the hidden palace absorbed enough energy through its solar panels."

"Geez, it's a good thing that island doesn't come crashing down on a land mass." Amy sighed with relief. "But what is the island doing over the Mystic Ruins?"

"Oh that's easy." Knuckles replied. "Whenever the emerald is removed, the island docks itself above the spot it first rose from."

"Well at least, we don't have to worry about that thing crushing us." Tails commented, walking out of his workshop with a box of tools. "Now, would you two stop your chattering and lend me a paw over here?"

"Oh, darn." Amy sighed. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to get my new set of gloves dirty."

The blue blur ran through the streets of Station Square, zipping around cars and moving about with no regard for traffic lights or crosswalk signs. Every eye seemed focused on the city's celebrity visitor who kept drawing attention to himself without any regard for self or common sense.

"Bummer, looks like there isn't any chili dog stands open." The hedgehog sighed. "Looks like I'm just gonna have to settle for burgers like everyone else." Sonic zipped into a fast food restaurant coming out with two bags with golden arches on the sides. It was just then that he heard the loud scream of a siren as flashing lights appeared on the horizon.

"Looks like I got some unwanted attention." Sonic stared in disbelief. "What the heck… is that a formula one racecar!?" Without any farther warning, he took off leaving a blue trail behind him as the red racecar zoomed towards his target.

"Attention, Station Square command. This is Officer Sam Speed." The driver of the car stated into his radio. "I am currently in pursuit of blue mobian hedgehog guilty of several traffic violations and jaywalking."

"Copy that, Officer Speed." The voice came over the radio. "Continue pursuit and await backup."

"Copy that, Gold Leader." He replied turning his radio off. "Sorry, sir. But when a speeding mobian runs rampant on MY highway, the king of speed is gonna turn him into roadkill." Reaching down past his glove compartment, he ran his finger along several notches carved into his dashboard. With the names of several different animals written below each notch. The words: Speeding Mobian Roadkill Count were written above the carved notches. "Time to put another notch in the old dashboard." He smirked pulling a lever that said 'Super Fuel'. "Another day, another arrogant fuzzball Sam Speed is going to put behind bars."

The car took off like a shot zooming passed the unsuspecting blue blur pulling in front of him. "HEY! That's no fair!" Sonic yelled angrily. "No one is allowed to juice and jam faster than I do." Pulling every ounce of reserve speed into his feet, he jumped ahead and landed on the nose cone of the formula one racecar.

"HEY! What are you doing, get off of there!" Sam Speed yelled angrily. "What if any of the kids' reading this try to copy what you're doing!?"

"Given the average age of Sonic fanboys living in their mom's basement, I don't think any of them are going to try this." The hedgehog replied.

"Wow, has it really been ten years since Sonic X came out?" Sam asked, his eyes going wide. "Boy, do I feel really old now. We've been doing this gag longer than the target audience has been alive."

With that little exchange over, Sonic raced forward barely outpacing the rocketing car. Sam Speed followed Sonic through the twists and turns of the roads and back alleys of Station Square for nearly an hour. Finally, the car's engine began to knock and sputter; Sam looked down at the gauge in horror.

"Oh, you got to be kidding me!" He yelled out. "How can I be out of fuel this quick?" The car sputtered to a stop and Sonic kept running until he came to an adorable little mobian girl standing in the middle of the street.

"Excuse me, Mr. Sonic." The cheery eyed little rabbit said to him. "I was wondering if you could help me with something."

"Huh? Cream, is that you?" Sonic asked, surprised. "I didn't know you live in Station Square." He bent down to talk to her. "Sure, what can I do for you?"

"I just wanted to say to Sonic, that I am really really sorry for this." She frowned. "And I hope you can forgive me some day."

"Forgive you? For what?" Sonic asked confused. "What are you talking-?" BONG!

When Sam Speed stepped out of his car, he walked up to find an unconscious Sonic the Hedgehog laying on the ground with a mobian rabbit standing over him with a dented frying pan.

"Okay Mr. Speed, he's all yours now." Cream stated. "You can take him to Chris."

* * *

Meanwhile, at the abandoned Emerald Coast missile, Dr. Eggman was going through several old trunks full of clothing and other objects. Throwing shirts and socks in every direction as he rummaged through the containers.

"Dr. Eggman, may I inquire as to what you are doing?" A-ko asked him.

"Well, this is my vacation from villainy. So, I thought I would try a few new things out." Dr. Eggman explained. "There are so many wonderful hobbies I wanted to try, but Uncle Julian didn't approve of my leisure activites."

"Oh, really? What kind of hobbies are you interested in trying?" B-ko asked him, curiously. "Skydiving? Bottle Cap Collecting? Childrens' Card Games?"

"Actually, I always wanted to try ballet." Eggman suddenly came out of the storage room in white tights and a pink tutu. "So what, do you boys think? Could I get the lead role in Flicky Lake?" Both of the robots eyes turned into red X's and they collapsed.

"Idiot sight does not compute. Does not compute."

"404 Error: Too ugly, too ugly."

"Everyone's a critic." Eggman snapped going back into the storage room. "You're just both jealous that I'm beautiful." Just then, a black villain chao blew into the window, ruffling through his messenger bag.

"Dr. Eggman. Hey, Dr. Eggman. The message you left at the Metropolis Zone said you'd be here." Bouta-kun exclaimed pulling a flyer out of his pouch. "I came to tell you that the wrestling tournament you wanted to go to is going to be held in Station Square tomorrow."

"What!? This is perfect." Eggman exclaimed from the other room. The sound of his changing clothes quickly filled Bouta-kun's ears. "Instead of ballet, I shall try something far more manly. I shall enter the tournament myself and the world shall know the power of…" Eggman stepped out of the back room wearing wrestling boots, a red and yellow luchador mask, a far too small speedo, and tank top wrestling trunks that let his whole hairy gut hang out to the point Bouta-kun could see the lint in his belly button. "El Gordo Grande." He exclaimed. "So, what do you think?"

"AHH! MY EYES!" Bouta-kun cried in terror flying into the bathroom, putting his face under the sink and turning on the faucet directly onto his eyes. "I can't wash out the image. I can't wash out the image. It burns!"

"I think I need to work on the costume." Eggman replied with a sigh.

* * *

"Look he's waking up." A voice said as Sonic began to return to consciousness. "You're really going to get a chance to meet your hero, Chris."

Sonic's eyes fluttered open and he found himself staring at the paneled ceiling of a rich family's house. The first thing that entered his vision was the sight of Cream and a human boy he didn't recognize. Cream almost seemed to have an apologetic look on her face, while the boy appeared to be extremely pleased with himself.

"Oh wow, Sonic the Hedgehog. This is so cool." The boy exclaimed dancing around the room with delight. "I finally got my own superhero for my birthday, just what I always wanted."

"I'm really happy you enjoy your present, Master Chris." Ella declared. "Because Miss Cream went through a great deal of trouble to bring him here."

"Ugh, I feel like I got hit in the head with a frying pan." Sonic stated rubbing his quills with his hands. "Okay kid, two questions" Who the heck are you? And why the heck did you bring me here?"

"You're my birthday present and you're the coolest one I ever got." Chris hugged Sonic so tightly that the blue blur's eyes almost bolgged out of his skull.

"Too. Tight. Choking. Me." Sonic stuttered his words as he pushed Chris away. "Look kid, I'm happy it's your birthday and all, but kidnapping people is not the way to celebrate."

"Mr. Sonic, you mean I did something wrong?" Cream asked as tears formed in her eyes. "I'm so sorry but I just couldn't stand to see Chris sad."

"I don't care what you think. You're my birthday present." Chris screamed angrily, shaking Sonic back and forth violently. "I'm not going to lose my new present right after I just got it."

"What in the world is going on out here?" Mr. Tanaka yelled as he and Vanilla came out into the living room. "Is that Sonic the Hedgehog? Master Chris, what have you done!?"

"No, I won't give him up." Chris screamed, shaking Sonic even more violently. "He's my birthday present. Mine mine mine."

"That does it, Chris Thorndike. You are the brattiest, most spoiled, childish crybaby I've ever met." Vanilla declared angrily rolling up her sleeves. "And it high time somebody had the grapefruit to do something about it." Stomping over to the screaming and whining brat, Vanilla sat down turned him over her knee. Picked up a nearby flyswatter and proceed to apply the wire end to the business end of Chris Thorndike.

"SHE'S HURTING MASTER CHRIS! MR. TANAKA, DO SOMETHING!" Ella shouted.

"Ella, someone is finally doing something." He replied with a dry smile. "And it's about time that somebody had the guts to do it."

"Good grief, no wonder Cream turned out so nice and polite." Charles Thorndike exclaimed. "That settles it, I think we found a new babysitter for Chris."

Sonic stood up scratching his head and asked "Would somebody please tell me, what is going on here?"


	15. X Marks the Spot: Pt 3

X Marks the Spot: Pt 3

"I'm so sorry about this whole mess, Mr. Sonic." Charles Thorndike apologized. "I told Chris he could have anything he wanted for his birthday because his parents couldn't come to see him, but I'm afraid he reached a little too far this time and got himself in trouble."

"I want to apologize as well, Mr. Sonic, for Cream's part in abducting you." Vanilla agreed shooting an angry glare at her daughter that told the smaller rabbit that this was not over. "I should have done a better job in disciplining my little girl. I hope this will not cause any diplomatic problems between West Side Island and the United Federation."

"Nah. Don't worry about it, Miss Rabbot. It's cool." Sonic answered waving his hand dismissively. "I've had worse happen to me than this. Besides, I'm perfectly happy with making birthday visits provided I'm asked instead of kidnapped." Everyone in the room winced at his comment; just then, a knock came at the door. Ella walked over and opened it.

"Hey Sonic, how's it going?" A yellow fox asked, walking through the doorway. "I was wondering what happened to you."

"Tails," Sonic asked in surprise. "How did you get here?"

"Oh, Officer Speed came and told us that you were visiting this kid for his birthday. So, the rest of us decided… to…" He said, but his eyes went wide with horror. "Oh no, not her."

"TAILS!" Cream squeaked jumping up and bolting straight towards the yellow fox.  
Before anyone could utter a word, the two mobians were out the door like a shot. Miles racing along through the air propelled by his two tails. Cream flapped her ears in hot pursuit keeping pace with the terrified fox. "YOU GET BACK HERE, MILES PROWER!" She screamed frantically. "I've got my wedding dress all picked out, and you need to be fitted for your tux."

"SONIC, HELP ME!" Tails shouted. "I don't want to be a child groom." Sonic shook his head.

"Kids today. When I was younger, I was the one chasing girls not the other way around." He stated. The next one who came through the doorway, dashed passed all the other humans a look of burning hot rage on her face. And a large piko hammer slung over her shoulder, marching right up to Chris. She glared at him with an evil eye.

"Excuse me, are you the one who hognapped by Sonic?" She asked.

"Yeah, what about it?" Chris snapped looking at the little pink hedgehog girl in contempt. "He's mine, what are you going to do?"

"YAHBOOM!" She shouted, smacking him on the head with her hammer. It was another boy running for his life from a girl, this time trying to stay ahead of an angry female smacking him on the noggin again and again. This happened as he fled in terror.

"MR. TANAKA! GET HER OFF! GET HER OFF!" Chris screamed in a panic. "SHE'S GONNA KILL ME!"

"Poor Master Chris taking it on both ends." Mr. Tanaka sighed wiping a tear away with his handkerchief. "They grow up so fast."

"Sonic, what's up?" Knuckles asked, coming in the door after the other two. "I heard you came to visit some kid on his birthday. Though I'd come by and share my awesomeness with the birthday boy too."

"Oh, yaa. It's the cute little echidna." Ella declared patting the dreadlocked mobian on the head. "Aren't you da cutest little thing?"

"BY THE ANCIENT WALKERS, IT A MOVING MOUNTAIN!" Knuckles declared as he took a step back in fear. "And it speaks its own language too."

"But that's impossible, I heard echidna civilization went extinct decades ago." Grandpa Thorndike exclaimed. "Wait, I got it. It must obviously be some kind of robot." Running over to a drawer in a nearby tool bench, Charles Thorndike pulled out a screwdriver and immediately picked up the unsuspecting echidna. "Now, let's see if I can get the darn thing open and figure out how it works."

"No, wait? What are you doing with that screwdriver?" Knuckles flailed and whined in a panic. "Hey, that doesn't go there. STOP, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

It was several hours later, when all of the mobians and humans were seated at the dinner table as Ella worked in the kitchen.

"I'm so happy that all of you agreed to join us for dinner, as an apology for what Master Chris attempted to do to Mr. Sonic." Mr. Tanaka bowed politely. "Unfortunately, Grandfather Thorndike will not be joining us for the meal due to Mr. Knuckles knocking him unconscious."

"HEY! Do you know where he was going to stick that thing?" Knuckles stated, crossing his arms angrily. "It was self-defense I tell ya."

"Who cares if Grandpa went to take a nap? I'm hungry." Chris whined holding the ice bag on his head as he was sitting on a soft pillow Ella had placed. "Let's eat. I'm tired of waiting."

"But the food isn't ready yet." Tails protested, looking over the small rabbit staring at him longingly. "Unless, you guys are interested in my specialty dish, roasted hare."

"Tails, get serious. Stop trying to annoy the girl." Sonic rebuked. "I don't want any more fighting. I just want to eat."

"I had Ella look up all your favorite dishes and I think you'll be extremely pleased with what we have." Mr. Tanaka explained. "For you most honorable hedgehogs, I give you the gift of…" Ella brough in a large serving tray. She lifted the lid to reveal the most beautiful sight Sonic had ever seen. "Freshly cooked chili dogs."

"My gosh…" Sonic wept. "It's so beautiful." Within seconds, the stack of nearly fifty dogs was engulfed in a blue blur. All of it disappearing within seconds. "BEEEERRRRRP!" Sonic commented, falling back into his seat.

"HEY, YOU RUDE PIG!" Amy snapped. "Some of those were for me too, you know."

"Don't worry about it, I left you one, see?" Sonic pointed at the tray, where one chili dog remained. "Besides, it's not like you… gulp… eat chili dogs."

"If I didn't know you needed all those calories to run at super speed, I knock you through the ceiling with my hammer for that." Amy's eye twitched in anger.

"Forgive me, Miss Amy. Perhaps this will be to your liking." The butler stated, snapping his fingers. "As you can see behind me, Miss Ella has prepared four pepperoni and sausage pizzas with stuffed crest and I heard you greatly enjoy-" Mr. Tanaka was interrupted as a speeding pink blur spun around the three whole pizzas leaving not even a crumb on the tray.

"Urp." A small lady-like burp came out of the pink hedgehog. "Oh, excuse me."

Ella, then, set down two trays in front of Tails and Cream. The little rabbit pulled the lid off of her tray.

"Yay, carrots my favorite." She answered, smiling. "What did you get Tails?"

"Roasted rabbit." Tails grinned licking his chops.

"Roasted rabbit?" Cream whimpered, her eyes filling up with tears. "WAAAAAAH!" The little rabbit just sat their bawling, while Tails consumed his entire dish. Still feeling hungry, Tails' eyes turned towards Cream picking up the salt shaker off the table he began to sprinkle some of the salt on her head, when a large frying pan came down on his head.

"Don't even think about it, young man." A scowling mother rabbit glared at him. Finally, a tray was set down in front of Knuckles.

"And for you, Mister Knuckles, an echidna delicacy." Mr. Tanaka bowed. "I present to you, frogs legs."

"Oh boy, I haven't had these since Grandpa Athair died." Pulling the lid off and picking up his silverware. "I can't wait for this!"

"NOOOOOOO!" a shout came from outside the house. As a large purple cat smashed the door down running over to where the frog legs sat in front of Knuckles. He picked up the barbequed appendages up and held them tightly. "You barbarians." He stated before walking out the door holding the legs. "Don't worry, buddy. I'll get you to a doctor. You're going to be okay." He left the room where the real Froggy was on his back.

"Well, that was certainly… dramatic." Amy said with a nervous laugh. "Sorry about that he was visiting Station Square to try the fishing around here and we kind of invited him along."

"This is certainly an interesting dinner." Mr. Tanaka noted looking over all the mobians and humans enjoying their meals. "What do you all think would be an appropriate after dinner activity?"

"Well, maybe we could…" Sonic started to suggest.

"Wrestling." Knuckles blurted out. "I've heard the IWF is having a match today at Station Square Garden." He exclaimed, punching his fist. "There's nothing I love better than watching two humans beat each other senseless in their underpants."

"Oh yeah… that sounds like a whole lot of fun." Amy groaned, rolling her eyes. "A bunch of large muscular men punching each other senseless."

"You are quite correct, Miss Amy." Vanilla replied sipping her tea gracefully. "A bunch of half-naked males getting all sweaty and dirty, how crude." The two women looked at each other and then turned back to face everyone else.

"So, when do we leave?" They both replied simultaneously.

"Yeah, it sounds like fun." Sonic yawned. "Better than just sitting around here."

"An excellent idea my friends." Mr. Tanaka suggested. "However, may I suggest that Miss Cream and Mr. Tails stay behind and watch the house. Miss Vanilla, may I get your coat?"

"Wait, don't leave me here with…" Tails pleaded, but they were all out the door before he could finish. The young fox ran over to the door and began pulling on the handle, but found it locked and the key nowhere in sight.

"Oh, Miles…" A voice said. Tails turned around and suddenly backed against the locked door. A small rabbit girl in a wedding dress and carrying a banquet of flowers, slowly walked towards him. "Here comes the bride." Finding nowhere to escape, Tails rolled up into his head and he fainted. Before losing consciousness the last thing, poor Miles Prower heard was. "Yay, now it's time to celebrate the honeymoon."

* * *

Back at Dr. Eggman's vacation headquarters, the doctor was tucking his fat into his wrestling trunks and trying to stand up straight in sports clothing that was obviously two sizes too tight.

"Well, boys. I'm off to the wrestling tournament." The doctor declared throwing a feather boa around his neck. "How do I look?"

"Doctor Eggman, I think you'll have no trouble with your opponents." A-ko replied. "One look at that outfit and your opponent will pass out from laughter."

"Bah, my wrestling attire is perfect." Eggman boasted, eating a taco. "My grand appearance is awesome enough to destroy nations."

"If you eat too many of those tacos and burritos, your butt gas will be powerful enough to destroy nations." B-ko replied shaking his head in disgust.

"It's all part of my wrestling gimmick." He slurped down a cheesy burrito and a chimi changa. "I am El Gordo Grande: the fattest wrestler in all Mexico."

"So, you're the pro wrestler who will die of congestive heart failure first?" Bounta-kun said, sarcastically. "Your worst opponent in the ring is going to be the tag team of Weight Watchers and Overeaters Anonymous."

"You're all just jealous I can throw my weight around." Eggman yelled storming out the door. "Now, be sure to watch my match telecast on the monitor. I'm going to make a big splash in the world of wrestling."


	16. Wackiness, Wrestling, Captive Audience

Wackiness, Wrestling, Captive Audience

"Sweety, wake up." A young girl's voice said. Tails shook his head as consciousness slowly returned to the two-tailed fox. Opening his eyes, Miles Prower found himself laying in Chris Thorndike's bed. He could hear what he thought was the sound of a crying baby coming from the other room.

"Where am I?" Tails asked, looking around. "What's going on?"

"Tails, sweety. You woke up." She exclaimed coming into the room. "You've been unconscious for five whole months."

"I… what!?" Tails' eyes went wide in horror. "What's going on? What happened?"

"Something wonderful has happened." Cream said, holding up the crying form she had wrapping in a blanket. "We multiplied; you're now a daddy." Tails immediately crossed his eyes and passed out.

"Ah, you're no fun." Cream pouted unwrapping the battery operated crying doll, she had wrapped in the blanket. "You're the worst boy I ever played house with."

* * *

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to the International Wrestling League's seventeenth annual Wrestlerama." The announcer's voice boomed over the PA system. "We have quite an exciting show for you tonight, so be sure to stay with us for an incredible evening of thrills and excitement."

"Man, I can't believe we got these awesome seats in the fourth row." Knuckles exclaimed. "I mean, all Sonic did was walk up and ask the people sitting here if we could have the seats and they just jumped up and ran away."

"Knuckles, they left because of the after effects of all those chili dogs Sonic ate." Amy Rose grumbled, a clothes pin on her nose. "This is why I always turn down any of Sonic's date offers when the place were eating has chili dogs on the menu."

"So, who do you think is wrestling tonight?" Vanilla asked fanning herself as she adjusted the clothes pin on her own nose. "Last time it was the Master Marauder taking on the Midnight Masher."

"Gee those sound more like kitchen utensils than wrestlers." Sonic chuckled. "But it should still be interesting to see a wrestling match between two humans instead of two mobians."

"Really, Mister Sonic?" Tanaka asked. "What is the difference between a mobian wrestling match and a human one?"

"Think of a wrestling match that turns into a game of dodgeball than into a game of pinball than finally ends when the bad guy buzzsaws the wrestling ring in half." Sonic replied. "In human wrestling, steel chairs and baseball bats are illegal weapons that villain wrestlers use anyway. In mobian wrestling, they are usually collateral damage."

"Good grief, it sounds less like a wrestling match and more like an episode of Dragonpearl Q." Chris noted.

"It looks like they are about to start the match." Amy noted. "Let's be quiet and see what happens."

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you this evening's main event." The announcer said. "Currently in the ring, in the red corner, weighing in at 327 lbs is the masked mauler of Spagonia,"

The crowd burst into cheer as the mauler waved to the crowd and uttered his signature catchphrase, 'I hope she made lotsa spaghetti'."

"And in the blue corner, his challenger, weighing in at 400 lbs is the underdog from the Metropolis Zone, El Gordo Grande." Some people in the cheer gave a respectful cheer as El Gordo climbed onto the ropes and punched his fist.

"It's arriba time." El Gordo stated.

"Well, he certainly is… fat." Amy said with a disappointed sigh. "At least, he seems a nice enough fellow."

"True, and the muscular mauler at least makes the fight halfway interesting." Vanilla replied. The two opponents charged as the bell rang, punching and kicking and putting chokeholds on each other. The masked mauler managed to knock El Gordo; however, the fat one simply rolled over to the rope, grabbing them to pull himself back up. The mauler lunged at El Gordo who simply grabbed him by the trunks and flung him out of the ring.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, here is your winner: El Gordo Grande." The audience broke into a cheer as El Gordo flexed his muscles for the crowd. Just as the three women in Sonic's group each expressed their opinion.

"He's arrogant." Amy commented.

"He's rude." Vanilla agreed.

"I'm in love." Ella exclaimed. As if hearing what the cleaning lady in the crowd had said, El Gordo turned to where the three sat and Ella a wink. The fat wrestler turned back just in time to see another luchador attacking him.

"Hey good hombre, good match there." The other wrestler told him, picking up El Gordo and throwing him. "Let's see what you do against the might of El Magnifico." The muscular luchador tossed El Gordo around like a ragdoll, throwing him against the ropes and slamming him several times. It seemed the rotund wrestler couldn't get a hit in on the larger luchador until El Magnifico lifted him high over his head. "The weight… it's too much." His muscles beginning to buckle under the strain of all El Gordo's fat. "Adios, muchacho. I'm outta this match." Suddenly, the whole ring caved in with El Magnifico falling through the floor. His opponent stood up in the middle of the crushed ring and began to bow to the audience.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the winner of your match: El Gordo Grande." The announcer stated; the audience burst into thundering applause showering the obese wrestler with roses, confetti, and some ladies' frilly unmentionables.

"Good grief, I can't believe all the attention they are showering on this weiner." Sonic rolled his eyes. "He just used his fat to win the match."

"You don't know what you are talking about." Ella declared, holding her hands up to her face. "He is the most attractive man I've ever seen."

"You would think that you Swedish meatball." Knuckles exclaimed, shaking his fist at the ring. "That tub of lard isn't so tough. I'll take him on with both knuckles tied behind my back."

"Alright, you think you can do it, Knucklehead." Sonic exclaimed picking the echidna up and throwing him into the ring. "Here you go."

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a new challenger. And this time, a mobian, will our up and coming hero be able to handle it?" The announcer said.

"Come on, El Taco Belgrande." Knuckles waved him in a challenging manner. "I'll grind you up into burger bits."

"Knuckle… I mean, bring it on." El Gordo stated. The echidna charged at him, plummeling him with a barrage of fists.

"This will show you fatzo." Knuckles stated.

"Haha, that tickles." El Gordo declared as his fat absorbed all of the blows. "Now, it is time for my signature move… The Belly Bounce." Pulling his gut inwards, El Gordo Grande unleashed a furious blow knocking the surprised echidna clean out of the ring and sending him, slamming back to seat upside down.

"Knuckles, are you alright?" Sonic asked, actually sounding concerned. "What happened?"

"But mother, I don't want to go to school…" Knuckles answered, with stars going around his head. "I wanna stay home and bake cookies with you."

"Mr. Sonic, you cannot just sit there and let your friend take this kind of humiliation." Vanilla declared. "You need to get up and challenge that obese bully."

"So what about it, hedgehog? Care to step into the ring with the best and fattest?" El Gordo asked beating his stomach like a drum. "I'll sit on your head and squash it like a cantaloupe." He suddenly expelled a little flatulent. "Make that a stinky cantaloupe."

"Come on, Sonic. You can take that big thug." Amy cheered him on.

"Fine, I'll fight him." Sonic stated, as he stood up and jumped into the ring. "Bring it on, tubby." He snapped.

"En Garde." El Gordo said, charging him. Sonic spin attacked the obese wrestler in the gut, sending him stumbling backwards into the ropes. Diving underneath the round wrestler, the blue blur grabbed the back of his trunks and pulled him down onto his back.

"Hey look, it's a trampoline." Sonic declared, jumping on his gut.

"Ow, oh, oh."

"Boingy, Boingy, Boingy." Sonic continued.

"Why you impudent little guinea pig." El Gordo grabbed the blue hedgehog and threw him down onto the mat. "I'll show you whose boss. YAA!" Grande attempted to body tackle him, but Sonic was too quick. He circled around and around the fat fighter, trying to make El Gordo dizzy.

"Had enough yet, fatzo?" Sonic asked with a smirk. "Or am I going to rough you up more?"

"I should be asking you that." El Gordo to reply. Waiting for Sonic to circle around behind him, El Gordo suddenly fell backwards without any warning. Catching the blue blur off guard, El Gordo squashed the unsuspecting hero like a grape.

"OH NO, SONIC!" Amy squealed.

"He totally flatten him." Chris declared.

"Is this the end of Sonic?" Mr. Tanaka asked aloud.

"Will our hero be able to survive?" Ella continued. Knuckles turned out to face open air.

"Tune in next time dear readers," Knuckles answered. "Same hedgie time, same hedgie story." The other five looked at him.

"Oh dear, I think Mr. Knuckles is still suffering from that blow to the head." Vanilla finished sadly.


	17. El Grande Battle

El Grande Battle

"Oh ladies and gentlemen, the humanity and mobianity." The announcer said. "It looks like our up incomer El Gordo Grande has defeated the famous hero, Sonic the Hedgehog. Will the blue blur be able to recover from this serious setback?"

"Oh no, I gotta do something." Amy wailed, pulling out her piko hammer. "That fat slob is hurting my poor Sonic."

"Amy, no. You can't disrupt the match." Vanilla warned her pulling the pink hedgehog back down. "Besides, everyone knows wrestling is fake. Sonic will be just fine."

"Mmmph!" Sonic groaned kicking his legs from El Gordo's posterior.

"You think that was something, hedgehog." El Grande smiled. "Get a load of this." THPHHHT! Sonic's legs stopped kicking and he laid still as a foul stench filled the arena.

"Eww, that's gross!" Knuckles exclaimed pulling himself back up onto his seat after recovering from some serious blows. "That is the nastiest stank I've ever smelled."

"Ugh." Vanilla groan holding her nose. "It smells like a backed up sewer."

"Are you okay back there my good hedgehog?" The wrestler asked looking over his shoulder. "I guess I had one too many atomic burritos before the match." El Gordo stood up leaving an unconscious hedgehog laying on the mat. Placing his hand on Sonic's chest, the referee came over to deliver the pin count.

"ONE… TWO… THR…" The referee started to count. When Sonic, suddenly, sat up gasping for air.

"Ugh…" The blue blur gasped for breath. "So… much… fat. How could anything smell that bad?"

"Well, if you think that's bad, Sonic. Wait until I throw my whole mass into this." El Gordo announced. Running and bouncing, he leapt into the air and came straight down onto Sonic gut first. Sonic started to roll out of the way when El Gordo came down smashing through the bottom of the mat.

"Oh no. Ladies and Gentlemen, both wrestlers are out of the ring." The announcer stated.

"Poor Sonic fell through as well." Mr. Tanaka declared. "I hope he's alright."

"Oh no, my poor El Gordo…" Ella whined. "I hope he is alright." Just then a white gloved hand came from the hole as Sonic slowly but shakily pulled himself back up onto his feet. The crowd gave a cheer as the weakened hedgehog tried to stand.

"Oh yeah, that's what I'm talking about." Sonic declared facing the crowd. "I'm your number one hedgehog hero."

"Why you miserable rodent!" A yell came out as El Grande climbed out of the hole. "I'm going to rip every quill off of your body and feed it to you." The enraged wrestler stood before a stunned crowed for a few moment, before they all suddenly burst into laughter.

"HAHAHAHAHA!" The crowd roared.

"What!? What's so funny!?" El Gordo demanded. "What are you all laughing at!?"

"Hey, El Gordo… or should I say Egghead." Sonic answered, holding a pair of wrestling trunks on his index finger. "Looking for these?" El Gordo Grande suddenly looked down and saw his Eggman boxers exposed for the entire crowd.

"AHHH!" He screamed covering himself pathetically. "MY EGG PARTS ARE SHOWING!"

"Oh my word," Mr. Tanaka exclaimed, scandalized. "El Gordo Grande is really Dr. Ivo Robotnik."

"I knew he was a villain." Vanilla shook her head. "But I didn't think he was an exhibitionist too."

"HEY EGGHEAD! GET OUT OF THE RING!" Amy yelled, heckled him. "GET OFF THE MAT, SO MY SONIC CAN HEDGEHOG THE SPOTLIGHT!"

"Oh no, this is horrible." Ella cried, sobbing. "My gorgeous El Gorgo Grande just laid an egg."

Eggman threw off his luchador mask and stormed out of the ring leaving Sonic to receive the cheers and applause. Walking over to pick up the mask, Sonic turned to face his friends.

"So guys, what do you think? Do I have a future in the wrestling business?" HE asked pulling the mask over his head. "From now on, I'm the blue blur."

"I… don't know Sonic. I think you should stick to superheroics." Amy waved a hand dismissively.

"Don't feel so down, Sonic. Some of us aren't just cut out for the spotlight." Knuckles climbed back into the ring, patting his friend on the shoulder and taking the mask from him. "So, what do you think about… The Red Enchilada?"

The seven of them were heading back to the house talking and laughing when a grumpy looking fox in a bathrobe and five 'o clock shadow came out of the house to get the newspaper.

"About time you kids got back." The fox grumbled taking a sip out of his coffee cup. "Cream has almost got dinner ready, so be sure to wash up before you come to the table."

"Tails, little buddy. Is that you?" Sonic asked horrified. "What did that little psycho do to you?"

"Hey watch your mouth." Vanilla snapped, smacking him on the back of the head." They all went inside and saw Cream in a bathrobe and hair curlers cooking carrots in a pan on the stove with one hand and holding a crying baby doll in the other.

"Honey, can you give me a hand here." Cream wimpered. "I can't do two things at once."

"Not now, woman." Tails responded sitting down and opening the newspaper. "Can't you see I'm looking at the sports section? Then, I want to check my stocks."

"Oh my G-." Amy just stood there terrified. "Sonic… remind me, NEVER to try and domesticate you."

"Oh dear." Vanilla added shaking her head. "I think my dear little girl has decided to take playing house a bit too far."

After they had gotten Cream and Tails straightened out, the happy crew were all sitting in the living room enjoying a laugh.

"Sorry about taking playing house so far, Tails." Cream said with a laugh. "I guess I get a little carried away sometimes."

"Hey, it's no problem, Cream." Tails replied, with his eye twitching in a nervous tick. Sonic had never seen him do before. "Just promise me, you'll never come within one hundred yards of my person again."

"Master Chris, you have been awfully quiet during the match and everything that had happened." Mr. Tanaka noted. "Are you unhappy with how your birthday has turned out?"

"Oh no, not at all." Chris replied, a smile on his face. "In fact, the match and everything that's happened as convinced me that I was wrong to want to keep Sonic as a pet."

"Oh, that's wonderful Chris." Vanilla exclaimed, putting her hands together. "I think it's very nice how the whole experience has matured you."

"Yep, I realized wanting Sonic as a pet was a mistaken." Chris turned around pointing to all the mobians. "I've decided I want to keep all of you as pets."

The house was silent for a few moment before a terrified ten-year old boy went running out the door with a crazed pink hedgehog with a hammer and an angry rabbit woman with a frying pan after him. The two chased the terrified brat in circles around the yard, while Sonic and the others simply watched from the window.

"Wow," Sonic shooked his head. "I guess some brats just never learn."

Back at the missile base, Eggman was pacing around in disgust.

"I can't believe that stupid hedgehog ruined my vacation." He said reaching into his right pocket. "Well, I have just the thing to ruin his day as well."

"What do you have there, Dr. Eggman." A-ko asked. "Something that will help you defeat, Sonic?"

"Wow, a new weapon?" B-ko asked. "Is it a bottle of poison you're going to pour on his chili dogs?"

"No, you simpleton." Eggman declared pulling a blue gem out of his pocket. "It's a chaos emerald / the emerald of transformation to be exact." He paused. "You see while Sonic has merely used all the emeralds at once to attain his super form, he and the others are not aware that each emerald has its own unique properties. This emerald when used in the proper manner will grant the power of transformation." Walking over to the ship's large turrent cannon, he used the still functioning nav system to target a particular house in Station Square.

"I have located where that blasted blue hedgehog is saying while here in the UF." Eggman explained slipping the emerald into a slot on the console. "I decided to stop playing around and turn that annoying rodent into a small mobini guinea pig."

"But Doctor, how can you control what the emerald turns something into?" B-ko asked.

"Actually, I can't." Eggman replied, setting his sights on Chris's house. "But I figure the transformation ray has to do something really, really unpleasant to the hedgehog." The beam fired off into the air, racing towards Chris's house.

When the two angry mobian women had gotten tired of chasing Chris around, the spoiled brat had stopped to whine and cry at everyone at his birthday party; angry that he hadn't got his own way.

"THIS IS SO UNFAIR!" Chris whined. "EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU RUINED MY BRITHDAY! I HATE YOU, I HATE ALL OF YOU!"

"Ah, come on now, Chris." Cream pleaded, stepping up in front of him. "I'm your friend and I like you a lot. Can't you even be nice to me?"

"GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU STUPID FUZZBALL!" Chris shouted, shoving the little girl down. "I… HATE… YOU. I DON'T WANT ANYTING TO DO WITH YOU! LEAVE ME ALONE!" The little rabbit girl started to cry, but then stopped when she saw a strange blue beam shoot down from the sky. She was going to warn Chris but before she could the blast struck the poor brat covering him in a blue light.

"AHH!" Chris cried in pain.

"What's happening to him?" Sonic asked actually considered for the spoiled child.

"That's chaos energy." Knuckles cried out, recognizing the light. "He's being transmogrified."

"CREAM, GET OUT OF THERE!" Vanilla shrieked noticing her daughter had also been caught in the light. As the bright flash died down, they all saw to their relief that Cream was dazed but unharmed. But where Chris had been standing was now an empty pile of smoking clothes.

"OH NO! MASTER CHRIS HAS BEEN VAPORIZED!" Mr. Tanaka wailed as Ella passed out. "What am I going to tell his poor mother and father?" Just then, a long rabbit ear popped out from inside the clothing pile. A naked mobian rabbit boy suddenly stood up looking at his near found paws in disbelief.

"What have you furballs done to me?" Chris stated.

"I wouldn't talk too much, kid." Knuckles smirked. "You're now kind of a furry yourself."

"WHAT!? NO!" Chris exclaimed looking at his reflection in the nearby mansion window. "I look like a cartoon character." Chris suddenly felt heavy breathing on the back of his neck. Turning around he found a rabbit girl staring right at him with hearts in her eyes. "Uh Cream…" He asked taking a step back. "What are you doing?"

She suddenly jumped towards him sending the terrified new mobian running down the street in a panic. "CREAM, NO! I DON'T WANT A GIRLFRIEND!" The two ran off towards the horizon. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" As the two disappeared over the horizon, a large pink heart floated up from the spot where they had vanished.

"Ah, young love." Mr. Tanaka said wiping his eyes. "Mr. Sonic, I want to thank you for coming to Master Chris's birthday party. I'm sure you've taught him a lesson he's really never going to forget."

Back at the hanger, Tails was just finishing up the repairs and fueling on the Tornado.

"Well, looks like we're about ready to go." He stated looking out the window back towards Station Square. "And not a moment too soon. The farther away a certain rabbit is from me, the better I like it."

"I really don't think you have to worry about her anymore, Tails." Amy chuckled. "I have a feeling in about ten years or so, she's going to be too busy multiplying to care about chasing you."


	18. Bats in the Belfries: Pt 1

Bats in the Belfries: Pt 1

"Are you sure it is truly necessary that we come here?" Shadow asked in annoyance, crossing his arms as he glared out the window. "It feels like a big waste of time."

"Oh calm yourself down, Mr. Sha-dumb the emohog." Rouge snapped back, reclining in her plane's seat. "This is the first time I've been invited to see my family since my imprisonment. I still can't believe that they are even willing to talk to me."

"Didn't you tell me your clan regarded you as an embarrassment?" Shadow asked with a smirk. "I can understand why you would still be worried about coming back."

"Haha. At least, I still have family that still wants to see me." Rouge glared at him. "I only wonder how things have changed in the past forty-five years."

"But that doesn't explain what I'm doing here along for the ride." Shadow replied, curiously. "Why did you have to drag me along on your sappy little family reunion?"

"Um, yeah. About that." Rouge stared at him sheepishly. "You see, when my cousin gave me the call asking me to come home for a visit; he sort of asked me if I had a family or an intended."

"Wait, don't tell me you…" Shadow's eyes went wide before giving Rouge a murderous glare. "How dare you say something like that without consulting me!"

"Say what exactly?" Dulcy asked sitting there quiety.

"For all intents and purposes while we are visiting with my family, I am Mrs. Rouge-Shadow." Rouge explained. "And that's the way my family is going to see things until we leave here, you got it?"

"This is utterly stupid." Shadow began to protest getting up from his seat in anger. "I refuse to be a party to your little deception and there is no way I'm going to-" Suddenly, Rouge was up in his face; her nail pick glove claws were at his throat then his lower areas.

"Did I forget to mention that I'm a jewel thief…? The kind of thief that removes jewels?" She warned in an angry tone in her voice. "Either you play along with this little charade or you'll need to chaos control yourself a new pair of emeralds."

"Got it." Shadow said, simply swallowing hard.

"Oh… that's tough." Dulcy responded in surprise, trying to stifle a laugh. "Better do what she says Shadow or your gonna lose your chaos spear."

"I really hate you two, you know that." Shadow grumbled, laying back in his seat and covering his face with a magazine.

"We wouldn't have it any other way, Shadow-darling." Rouge said, smiling.

* * *

The plane touched down on a small airstrip in the jungle with few other buildings or structures in sight. As the trio stepped off the plane, the only thing they saw was a beat up old hanger and what looked like a smelly pile of clothes laying on the ground.

"Well, this is certainly some welcome." Shadow stated with a smirk. "I thought you said your family was sending someone out to greet us."

"Shadow's right, this is some really lame hospitality." Dulcy agreed, kicking the small pile of clothes with a hat on top. "I can't believe your family couldn't even drop out to say 'hello'."

"Hey, watch out where you are kicking, man." The pile of clothes stated. The hat bobbing up and down. "Us pygmy bats can't really take too much damage, I think."

"Holy smoke, I think the laundry is talking to us." Dulcy yelped in surprise.

"Shorty, is that you?" Rouge asked staring down at him in shock. "I can't believe it, you've really grown since the last time I saw you."

"No kidding, Aunt Rouge." The laundry pile responded. "Hola, gringos. I'm Paco the bat, but every one they call me Shorty."

"Wait… Aunt Rouge?" the puzzled jewel thief asked. "Paco, you're my older brother. What in the world are you talking about?"

"I'm little Paco, Aunt Rouge." The little bat answered. "Named after grandpoppi. He raised me until he try to steal a big dumb cat's pet frog to hold for ransom. The kitty got mad and sat on him and turned him into a flat pancake."

"Wow, I can't believe I thought you were Paco." Rouge replied in disbelief. "Sorry, it's still hard for me to actually believe I've been gone for forty years."

"Look, I'm all choked up with you guys reunion and all. But could we move back to the family estate?" Shadow asked impatiently. "I really like to lay down and get some shut-eye after the long flight here."

"Sure thing, Uncle Shadow." The pile of clothes scooted over and reached up and grabbed the black hedgehog with an overly long sleeve. "Come on, I'll take you back to our hacienda."

"Wow, I can't believe this pile of clothes can talk all by itself." Dulcy exclaimed in wonder putting her foot out and stamping around on the clothing pile. "Rouge, do you think it's enchanted or something."

"HEY! CLAW OFF THE HEAD LADY!" the little bat shouted, picking Dulcy up and throwing her aside like a rag doll. "You don't see me jumping on your head, señorita."

"If you two are done clowning around, we really should get back to the hacienda." Rouge commented.

"No problemo, Auntie Rouge." The small bat grabbed her and Shadow by the arms flying into the air with them in tow. "Uncle Aero will be mucho happy to see you."

"Hey, you two. Wait for me." Dulcy called out flapping after the tiny bat. "It's not like I can fly too, you know."

* * *

The little bat flew them onward through the jungle taking Shadow and Rouge deeper and deeper into the Mystic Ruins. All around them, Shadow could see an endless sea of tropical trees and scorching hot jungle. Scattered throughout the tree filled forest, the black hedgehog could see crumbling stone statues and tall pillars dotting the tropical countryside.

"So, this is the Mystic Ruins. I thought it would be more impressive." Shadow complained in his usual grumpy manner. "So what do the echidnas just let you live here or do you guys have a rental deal?"

"Those echidnas are long gone, Uncle Shadow." Paco explained. "We moved into one of their old abandoned temples, mucho room."

The trio flew down towards a large step temple in the clearing with broken statues of echidna chiefs decorating the sides. As they approached the west side of the temple, one of the statues responded by curling up in a ball revealing an entrance that it had blocked previously.

"Whoa, you guys have an automatic door. That's really cool." Dulcy declared, flying in through the open hole after the other three. The four mobians flew down a long and winding brick tunnel. The sides all decorated with tiled mosaics depicting the ancient echidna civilization. Finally, the long snake like chamber opened into a large domed area where about a dozen or so bats of various shapes and sizes waited for Rouge and her friends.

"Hey Rouge, long time no see." One of the older bats with a grey beard called out. "How are you and your little hubby doing, huh?"

"Good to see you again, Pedro." Rouge smiled. "It's been far too long since I last saw you."

"Ohmygosh, you must be like Shadow the Hedgehog. You're so hawt." A young teenage bat with a ponytail and braces called out. "Cousin Rouge got really lucky when she snagged a hunk like you."

"Don't you ever make eye contact with me again." Shadow warned her giving a menacing glare.

"Oh, don't mind him, Selena." Rouge responded, giving the ultimate lifeform a kick in his fanny with her high heel. "My dear sweet Shadow's bark is far worse than his bite. At least, if he doesn't want a broken arm for insulting my family that is."

"Hey, a dragon. That's really cool." A tall skinny and lanky bat with taped glasses declared with a snort. "Is she a wyrm? Or a serpent dragon? Or a wyvern? What's her hit dice? Does she get a saving throw?"

"Ugh, pay no attention to the utter and total geek over there." Paco said in disgust. "My big brother, Edwardo, can be a real nerd sometimes. He hasn't kissed a girl in fifteen years and he's been living in Poppi's basement for twenty."

"That is an irrelevant statement, Paco, as we all dwell within the same structure." The nerd declared adjusting his glasses.

"All of you, enough." A commanding voice from the cracked throne at the front of the chamber. "It is time that we properly welcome our long lost family member back into the fold and congratulate her on her marriage to such an honorable impersonator of a noble hero."

"Wait… What are you talking about? I'm not impersonating." Shadow's eyes narrowed in rage. "Oh no, you are not comparing me to that damned fake hedgehog."

"Yeah. Sonic the Blowhog has nothing on Shadow-san." Selena commented, stars in her eyes as she stared at Shadow in wonder. "He's dark, deep, and mysterious with issues that mere mortals like you cannot even begin to fathom."

"Eh, you don't know what you're talking about." Paco replied. "That Sonic is the real hero. He save all of Mobius and he's way faster than this wannabe hedgehog."

"Uh, statistically speaking, it's impossible for Sonic to be faster than Shadow." Edwardo declared, shifting around the pencils in his pocket protector. "Due to the fact Shadow can instantly teleport, there by negating any advantage that superior speed would give."

"Debating over which hero is better…" Dulcy giggled. "Man, how geeky can you get?"

"I know isn't it so stupid of them?" Paco asked, getting very close to Dulcy. "Wanna go somewhere and talk about it, baby?"

"Eww, get away from me." Dulcy replied in disgust. "I don't date southern fried burrito midgets."

"Okay guys, enough of this messing around." Rouge replied looking back to the bat on the throne. "Aero, why don't you stop playing around and get dad in here? You never were very good at playing chief. And father would be very angry at you for sitting on his throne again."

"Oh Rouge… I guess you didn't hear." Aero sighed, his face falling as he looked down. "I was sure you would have heard it somewhere or somebody would have told you."

"Told me what? What are you talking about?" She asked, realization starting to creep into the back of her mind, even if she didn't want to believe it. "Aero, where is dad? Why isn't he here?"

"Rouge big sister… I'm so sorry." Aero declared sadly, putting his hands on her shoulder. "While you were frozen, dad he… his heart… he was old and it was peacefully in his sleep."

"No, you can't mean…" Rouge trailed off falling to her knees. "Papa. I didn't think."

"Rouge, I'm so sorry." Shadow commented, sympathetically, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I had no idea your father had passed."

"It's not fair." Rouge replied, her lower lip trembling as she just sat there staring at the floor. "It's just not fair."

* * *

A few hours later, Shadow was in the ruined temple's small kitchen pulling a bottle of juice out of the fridge and pouring himself a glass. The ultimate life form was startled by the sound of footsteps behind him, but was surprised to turn and find the form of Selena standing behind him in her nightgown.

"Shadow! Like I didn't so totally expect to find you awake at this hour." Selena apologized. "If I'm like disturbing you, I can just go back to bed."

"Yes, please do so." Shadow started before thinking for a minute. "No, wait. You came down here for something."

"I just wanted to get myself some milk." She replied grabbing one of the small milk bottles out of the fridge. "You sure, if you don't mind if I have a seat with you?"

"Actually, I could use a little company." Shadow replied, motioning her to sit down. "I apologize but this has been an extremely rough day for me."

"Well, I can imagine marrying into this crazy family." Selena replied, rolling her eyes. "It's a miracle our uncle Aero doesn't go cuckoo trying to keep an eye on all of us."

"I must say. This is a rather impressive place you and your family have here." Shadow replied, looking around the room. "I've never seen an ancient temple restored and refurbished quite like this."

"Yeah, my other cousins installed electricity, plumbing, and elevators for the family. We even get four hundred channels from Mobius TV in here." Selena replied, proudly. "We got a hundred and twenty rooms and a sacrificial alter for heart-cutting that we never use."

"Wow… those echidnas had some interesting hobbies." He replied, shaking his head at the disturbing thought. "Anyway, I take it that you must be very happy to have Rouge home again."

"Actually, my brothers and cousins never knew her only Uncle Aero and a few of the elders remember Rouge." Selena stated in surprise. "We were always told growing up that she was a shame and disgrace to the family for being a criminal. Other than that, Uncle Aero was the only one who ever said nice things about her."

"Really? But then, why has the family invited her back?" Shadow asked in surprise. "It hardly seems logical to invite a dishonored relative back without some form of redemption."

"Well, Mr. Sonic and the GUN officers spoke very highly of Aunt Rouge, so Uncle Aero thought she might be able to redeem herself if just given the opportunity."

"Really? And how is she supposed to do that?" Shadow asked.

"Why, uncle Aero is going to have her travel to the very heart of the Mystic Ruins and challenge the strange mud beasts which threaten our fruit supply." Selena replied. "If she and you can defeat these terrible foes and save our crop supply, then all will be forgiven and Rouge may come home."

"So, Rouge has to defeat a foe of the family in return for coming home." Shadow mused. "Sounds like a fair trade. But tell me, why does the family not just steal the food it needs if you're all such great jewel thieves?"

"Thieves? We haven't stolen anything since my dad was little." Selena giggled. "I don't even know how to sneak past an alarm system. The worst thing I taken was my brother's ice cream cone when he wasn't looking."

"That does make sense." Shadow replied. "During the forty years, Rouge and I were frozen, must have stolen enough to make you all wealthy. It's kind of sad when you think about it really."

"Sad? How come?" She asked puzzled.

"Well… Rouge was raised by her father, your grandfather, to steal and pilfer so the family wouldn't starve." Shadow explained. "Over the years, she and her brothers made the family prosperous but then Rouge got a little too greedy and began stealing from innocent people, disgracing her to the family. Now, she's been gone for forty years and comes back to a family that no longer needs her thieving skills to survive. She was born and raised as a survival tool, but now she's worthless and obsolete."

"You're right. That actually is kind of sad." Selena replied with a sigh. "But tell me, Shadow, has she found a place for herself in the outside world? Is she happy with you and GUN?" Shadow thought for a moment, not quite sure what to say. Finally, he turned to the teenage batgirl and gave her a soft smile.

"She's doing what she knows how to do, Selena. And she is putting her skills to use for the better of all." Shadow closed his eyes. "That's all a person can ask for… isn't it Maria?"

"Maria? Shadow, my name is Selena." She asked. "Shadow, are you seeing some girl name behind my cousin Rouge's back?"

"What? No. Maria was just an old friend of mine." Shadow shook his head sadly. "She's gone now, but I can tell you that I miss her terribly."

"Shadow? I like you a lot." Selena smiled resting her head on the ultimate lifeform's shoulder. "Do you think you can learn to put up with a bunch of crazy bats for a family?"

"My dear… it's no crazier than the people I consider my family right now."


	19. Bats in the Belfries: Pt 2

Bats in the Belfries: Pt 2

The next day, the bat family was gathered at the cliff overlooking Sandy Valley which stood right next to the Mystic Ruins. As Shadow stared down into the sand-filled void, Aero was already giving the gathered spectators a speech.

"My fellow members of the Bat clan. Today is the momentous occasion, our long-lost sister who was exiled from our clan in disgrace will now have a chance to redeem herself. For she and her mate will challenge the foul sluggeroth."

"Wait, slug what now?" Shadow asked in confusion. "What the heck is the chief talking about?"

"Oh, the slugs are these mean and nasty underground uglies that steal our crops and food harvests." Selena explained, pressing herself up against Shadow in an uncomfortable manner. "If these slugs aren't stopped, us bats are going to starve to death. But I know you can take them, Shadow."

"Great. Just the thing I wanted to risk my life for." Shadow rolled his eyes. "Saving a bunch of fruit for a bunch of fruity bats."

"Hey man, I resemble that remark." The small pile of clothes next to Shadow complained.

"I didn't ask for your opinion, Shorty." He snapped. "Why don't you go find a rock to hide under before I cut you even farther down to size."

"Oh man, you went and did it now." The runt picked up the ultimate life form and threw him down into the valley like a rag doll. "Adios amigo."

"Oh my, it looks like Shadow is getting a head start into the quest. I admire his dedication." The chief complimented him. "Now Rouge, don't you think you better head down into the valley and join him?"

"Why does that doofus have to insult Shorty all the time?" Rouge threw her arms up in disgust. "Oh well, I better get down there before he does something even stupider." She leaped off the cliff's edge and glided down to the valley floor below. As she landed, she noticed Shadow spitting sand out of his mouth. "You just have to be sarcastic all the time, don't you." She grumbled tapping her foot, angrily. "Why don't you try being nicer to people? You'll get farther that way."

"The ultimate lifeform is kind to no one." Shadow snapped, trying to look menacing and regain hat little was left of his dignity.

"So what are we supposed to do now?" Rouge asked, looking around. "I don't see any sign of these terrible slugs my family is so afraid of."

BWWAAA! A loud cry came out of the ground, as the sand exploded outward sending the two mobians flying.

"Stupid surface dwellers, you dare challenge the might of Kraken?" someone stated. Rouge looked up to see the most slime-ridden, wart-covered mobian she had ever laid eyes on. She thought it was one.

The creature was a large red slug with root-like hands, a large circular belly covered with patches of slime and fungus, large toadstools were growing out of his back, and two large tusk-like teeth stuck out of the front of his jaws.

"Ugh, this thing must be one of the slugs your family was talking about." Shadow stated, taking a fighting stance. "What do you say we clean his clock, take care of the others, and be home in time for breakfast? I don't want to miss Selena's pancakes."

"No Shadow wait." Rouge protested. "We don't know what this thing can do." The black hedgehog gave a flying kick towards the creature's gut, simply bouncing off the layers of fat. Kraken grabbed Shadow in midair, holding him dangling upside-down.

"Put me down you disgusting blob." The ultimate life form demanded, flailing around.

"Oh… what a yummy looking hedgehog." Kraken declared, holding the upside-down Shadow in front of his face. "Does dinner have any last words?"

"Yeah," Shadow declared angrily. "Burn." The black hedgehog ignited the flame jets in his hover boots, blasting Kraken in the face. The creature howled and dropped the ultimate life form, grabbing his scorched face and tunneling back into the sand.

"MY EYES!" Kraken screamed disappearing beneath the sand. "You'll pay for this, you pesky gerbil."

"I'm not a gerbil." Shadow stated. "Hurry, we have to go after him."

"But how?" Rouge asked, shrugging. "It's not like we can follow him underground."

"Rouge, two words. Shovel claw." The black hedgehog grumbled as he pointed at the claws on Rouge's gloves. "You can tunnel through two miles of dirt to find gems just like that stupid echidna can."

"Oh yeah, that's right." Rouge replied. "Hang on, Shadow. We're going in." Rouge grabbed the ultimate lifeform by the arm and leapt straight down into the sand after the ugly slug.

"Wait, Rouge… I… AAHH!" Shadow declared, before he found his face full of sand.

Down, down, into the endless tunnels they went; following a labyrinth like path through the endless seas of sand. The two mobians headed deeper and deeper into the vortex of loose earth particles. Moving farther and farther away from the surface as they went.

"Rouge, are you sure that this is the best way to track that monster?" Shadow asked getting pulled along through the shifting sands. "I mean, this isn't exactly the easiest way to follow an underground creature."

"We've got to follow his trail before we lose it, Shadow." Rouge replied. "Besides, I've heard of this creature before. Sonic and the freedom fighters had an encounter with him during Robotnik's rule."

"Do you mean that underground freak of nature whose race was wiped out by Julian?" Shadow asked. "He must have come to live off the bat folk after Robotnik fell from power. A pity we're going to have to take him from the endangered species list to extinct."

"Must we slay the poor creature, Shadow?" Rouge asked a twinge of sadness in her voice. "He is the only one left of his kind."

"That's right, Rouge. He's the last of his kind." Shadow said, bluntly. "He has no place in this world." The two came out in a large chamber filled with strange and primitive cravings, looking over the architecture Rouge noted something familiar about the shapes and sizes carved into the wall.

"Hey, Shadow." Rogue asked looking around the inscriptions. "Don't these look like those slug creatures that Kraken is one of?"

"Yes. I do believe, you are correct." Shadow added. "And it looks like they're all worshipping some kind of… crystal."

"It is the sacred history of my people." A deep voice bellowed from behind the two. "All intruders who gaze upon this image must pay the ultimate price." Kraken lunged forward, launching an extendable arm at Rouge who jumped out of the way. Turning to look at Shadow, he spewed a bunch of acidic goo at the ultimate life form. BLAAAAH!

"Chaos Control!" Shadow declared, teleporting out of the way. "That's the last of the energy from the chaos drive GUN gave me." The black hedgehog tossed the empty cartridge aside. "I need to find some way to get another charge."

"You're done for, hedgehog fool." Kraken screamed, lunging at the black hedgehog with his fangs. "You're not going to leave this chamber alive!" He charged straight at Shadow who simply stood there until the last moment.

"That's all you got." Shadow gloated him.

"I'LL DESTROYED YOU!" Kraken roared. At the last moment, Shadow jumped backwards opening fire with a barrage of shots from the semi-automatic pistols that GUN granted him. "Eat lead, slug-face."

Hundreds of bullets poured into the body of the slug-like creature getting stuck in his layers of fat. The creature chuckled.

"How do you want me to pay for the meal? Cash or Card?" the slug replied.

"Shadow, looks like your guns didn't have any effect on old lard butt here." Rouge snapped.

"Oh, you think that's something little lady." Kraken inhaled all the bullets disappearing into his flesh. "Just watch this." He spewed the bullets out back at the duo baking them jump all over the room. "Dance, little mobians, dance." Kraken laughed. "My body is made of a gelatinous substance. I can absorb any small impact that it thrown at me from the outside."

"Ow, he shot parts of my clothes off." Rouge looked down at the scratches and rips in her body suit. "You're going to pay for that, you filthy slug."

"What can you possibly do to me, little girl?"

"I'll show you what a treasure hunter can do." Bringing her shovel claws out, Rouge dove straight at Kraken's belly, jumping into the goo and tunneling into the body mass.

"AHH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Kraken shouted. "My body on fire."

"You said, outside." Rouge answered. "But I'm going in."

"HEARTBURN!" He screamed. "GET OUT OF ME, YOU NASTY LITTLE PARASITE!" Kraken heaved like he was going to blow chunks. Then, vomited Rouge out of his mouth covered in a putrid green slime that smelled like rotten eggs and decomposing ham sandwiches with maggots in them.

"Oh gross." Rouge said, finding she was unable to stand. "Oh great, I can't move."

"Then, it is the end of treasure hunting for you, you mangy night scavenger." Kraken raised a claw over his head. "Give my regards to the ancient walkers."

"ROUGE! NO!" Shadow jumped forward without even thinking. With a laugh Kraken backhanded the ultimate life form, sending his flying straight into the carving of the glowing crystal that the slug's on the mural were worshiping. The instant Shadow's body hit the wall, the ultimate life form was bathed in an eerie blue light.

"Wait, what is happening to you?" Kraken asked in shock. "This is not possible."

"Well, it seems the crystal embedded in this wall has the same energies as the chaos emeralds." Shadow declared, his body turning shock white. "It seems that I have attained the same power as that pathetic blue faker."

"My people's sacred crystal trapped in the wall mural this whole time?" The slug asked in disbelief. "How could I not be aware of this?"

"It doesn't matter what you are aware or not aware of." Super Shadow spoke in a creepy voice with a built in echo. "You're usefulness in this world is at an end. Prepare to join the rest of your species in oblivion."

"No, wait. This changes everything." Kraken pleaded. "With the crystal, I don't have to steal from the bat clan anymore. I can use its power to restore my race and…"

"CHAOS CONTROL!" Shadow teleported disappearing from view. "Tell me something, blob face. Do you know what happens when a body of mass is displaced by another body in the same space?"

"NOOOOO!" Kraken screamed. Shadow suddenly teleported right into the middle of Kraken's body causing him to explode in a massive shower of goo.

"No two bodies can exist in the same space at the same time." Shadow smirked. "So, one of those bodies has to go."

"Very cute and all, Shadow, but I'm kind of stuck in all this goo right now." Rouge struggled against the slime. "Think you could lead me a hand here?"

"Of course," Super Shadow responded, burning away the last of the slime with his touch. "There. You should be free now."

"Thanks, but don't you think that was a bit heartless, Shadow?" Rouge said sadly, looking at the splattered piles of goo. "I mean, he only wanted to save his people and he had agreed to stop robbing us."

"Like I said, Rouge. He had no place left in this world." Shadow held his hand out. "Now, I'm actually kind of hungry and since the slime ball ate all the food he had stolen. Watch this." A light began to glow in his hand. "Chaos… swiss roll." Then, a pastry appeared in his hand. "MMmmm, delicious."

"Gee, it sucks that some bakery somewhere on Mobius is missing one of their pastries." Rouge said in disgust. "Now if you excuse me, I'll head back up to the surface. The stink of a power-mad hedgehog is getting to me down here."

"Yeah, whatever." Shadow replied as she tunneled back up through the sand. When he was sure she was gone, Shadow put his hands on the splattered piles of goop and let the last of his energies he gained form the crystal flow into the slime puddles.

"Mep." The cry came up from the dozens of little puddles which formed into little Kraken like creatures with fangs and eyes. "Mep. Mep."

"There. Kraken's race has a second chance at life." Shadow said with a smile of satisfaction. "But without any of the original's greed and anger. Don't ever tell Rouge about this little guys, or she'll think I'm going soft."

"Mep." One of them declared as Shadow went back up the tunnel of sand.

"Rouge we are greatly honored that we have vanquished this foul foe and saved our clan from starvation." The chief declared. "You and your beloved are welcomed in as full members of the tribe with all past sins forgiven."

"Thank you, little brother." Rouge replied the necks of both her and Shadow. "But actually, to tell the truth, Shadow isn't my husband."

"WHAT!?" the hopping pile of clothes shrieked. "You keeding, girl? Why did you lie to us like that?"

"I was just afraid that you would get on my back about getting married and starting a family." Rouge shrugged. "It was easier to lie than to put up with all your nagging."

"Wait a second, you mean to tell me you and Shadow aren't married?" Selena asked, her eyes going wide. "Like Shadow is still totally single?"

"Yeah, he's not my type." Rouge declared, turning around and walking away. "I'm so totally not a Shadow fangirl. You can have him for all I care." Selena's eyes suddenly turned into hearts and a big grin spread across her face as she turned her head to look at Shadow.

"Rouge, wait. Don't leave me alone in this situation." Shadow, then turned and took off running. "Hover shoes, don't fail me now."

"That was a very foolish thing to do, Rouge." The chief advised her. "Shadow will never get that girl off his back."

"Eh, maybe he deserves a little backfire karma." Rouge answered with a smirk. "Maybe it'll teach him not to be so heartless sometimes."

The hedgehog and his teenage bat pursuer ran over the hill and Shadow's screams of terror can still be heard.

"Eww, I caught up with you Shadow sweetie."

"NOOOOO! LET ME GO! DON'T TOUCH ME THERE! HAPPY PLACE! HAPPY PLACE! MARIA! MARIA!"


	20. Revenge of the Serpent

Revenge of the Serpent

Mammoth Mogul stood as he cast magic into a shadow filled area. When he had finished, movement happened in the darkness. Then, glowing red eyes had appeared.

"So, you have awakened once again." Mogul replied. "I have heard from the one who has donated your skull to me that his daughter was taken away from him. But however, he knows that none of his people consider him a hero. Thus he asked me for help." Then, he paused.

"Who are you?" a voice stated.

"I am Mammoth Mogul." The elephant stated. "I was the one who brought you back from the grave. In addition, I have heard that a fox had slain you."

"How dare you mention that fox to me!" the voice hissed.

"Do you want to kill him?"

"Yesssss."

"I have place on you a suit of armor to protect you and gave you more supernatural abilities for the assignment I am to give you." Mogul proclaimed to him. "Head to West Side Island and Destroy. Miles. Tails. Prowler."

"With Pleasure." The voice stated in malevolent glee as he left in the shadows.

* * *

"What's this thing?" Knuckles asked as he was pointing to a machine, grabbing it by the handle.

"It's an experimental piece of equipment I'm working on." Tails stated.

"Is it like a vacuum cleaner?" Knuckles asked a second time.

"Sort of." Tails stated.

"Okay, I can test it."

"Knuckles, it's not a good…" Before Tails could finish his sentence, Knuckles turned on the machine. The machine activated and took off with him.

"AHHH!" He screamed as he tried to hold on. He zipped passed Cosmo who was getting Tails some iced tea. The speed caused her to spill the tea on her skirt.

"Ohhh." Cosmo groaned. Then, it ran into a tree and blew up. Knuckles came stumbling back with ash all over his face with the handle he was holding onto.

"You might want to work on that." Knuckles stated. Then, he fell backwards falling unconscious.

"It wasn't finished." Tails groaned facepalming himself.

"Tails, Tails, come quick!" Sonic stated. The fox ran into the other room where Sonic and Amy were at. Cosmo went with the fox.

"What is it?" He asked.

"You might want to see this." Sonic replied, as he turned up the volume on the TV. The news report showed images of charred bodies laying their side.

"There are bodies that are charred to a crisp." The reporter had answered. "Still, we have not found the perpetrator of these attacks on civilians."

"Looks like we need to do an investigation." Sonic stated.

"You're willing to do a slow mission?" Amy asked. "That's a first."

"Amy…" Sonic replied.

"Well, you never do slow missions." She answered.

"I… I… just wanted a change of pace." Sonic replied trying to pull himself back up to his argument.

"Oh sure." Amy said.

"Guys…" Cosmo stated with a worried look. "Look." They looked and on the TV; it revealed the markings of two tails on the ground as if carved out of the dirt. "Apparently, I wants Tails."

"Whoa," Sonic replied. "Is there anyone who would be that hostile to Tails? I know of a few who would be hostile towards me, but Tails? I don't buy it."

"I don't remember any who would be my enemies." Tails stated.

"Was there any conflicts you had outside of our team?" Amy asked.

"Well… there was only one I can remember." Tails answered. "I was on Medereck Isle and I had defeated a monster named Lyric, but nothing else. But it couldn't be him, he's dead." Amy looked a little worried when Tails said that the monster was slain.

"But shouldn't we investigate this?" She asked the other three.

"I think we should." Sonic stated.

"I'm worried about any more civilians being harmed by… whatever this is." Cosmo stated.

"Okay, just let me get my equipment." Tails added.

After getting the equipment that Tails had requested, the four headed out to the area. They ended up in a wooded forest filled with oak and birch trees.  
"Looks like this is the place where the attacks were." Sonic exclaimed. He looked down and saw the carved tails on the ground. "Definitely, the place of the attacks."

"So, we'll need to be on guard." Amy answered. "Don't split off from the others." But little did, they know that there was a set of eyes watching them. He hissed at them softly, but then he noticed Tails was in their group.

"Finally, the moment I've been waiting for." A voice said to himself. "The eradication of Tailsssss." He paused. "But on failure," he turned to another member of the party. "I will make hisssss life missserable." It gently moved towards a position where Tails could hear him clearly, but the others would have difficulty hearing its words.

The four looked around, all with their backs towards each other. They were moving slowly in some direction to look around for clues.

"What do you think it would be to attack such people?" Cosmo asked.

"Could it have been a dragon?" Tails asked.

"I doubt it. From what I heard, the dragon population is nowhere near West Side Island. Somebody would have noticed if one did show up." Sonic replied. "Besides, there are no foot prints of that type here."

"What else could have charred them? A guy with a flamethrower or napalm?" Amy asked.

"The environment would have been damaged if anyone used those weapons." Tails stated. "But due to there being no environmental damage that removes those weapons out of the equation."

"Tailsss." A voice said.

"Sonic, did you ask me for something?" Tails asked Sonic.

"I didn't say anything." The blue blur replied.

"Oh Tailsss." The voice taunted. "Come out and play."

"Why do I keep you calling me, Sonic?" Tails replied.

"I'm not saying anything." Sonic rebuked.

"Okay… If it's not Sonic, then, who's talking to me?" The fox answered.  
"Don't you remember me, Tailsss?" the voice hissed. "I remember perfectly well about the ssstuntsss that you pulled on me." Then, Tails noticed the eyes in the darkness. "But now, it doesssn't matter. You die today." He inhaled and a stream of fire came rushing forward.

"EVERYONE DUCK!" Tails shouted. The party ducked getting out of the way, but the tips of Sonic's quills got singed.

"HEY!" Sonic yelled. "I just got a new quill cut too." Then, the figured started to slither out of the shadows.

"No, it can't be." Cosmo answered in a frightened look; Tails was just as frightened. They saw Lyric come from the shadows, but he wore a metallic set of armor with two arms and a bubble around his head. There was a grill towards the front of the bubble. In addition, there was a claw attached to the end of the tail.

"I have returned for you, fox." Lyric stated.

"How could you be alive?" Tails asked. "I put a blaster shot in your head."

"I have returned from my ssslumber to get my revenge on you." Lyric answered. "And I will have it."

"So, you're Lyric?" Sonic stated. "You don't look that tough."

"Oh really?" Lyric rebuked him. "You think you're all that? If you try to get in the way of my revenge, I will desssstroy you assss well."

"I won't let you hurt Tails." Cosmo stated angrily at the snake.

"Isss that so, little medereck?" Lyric sneered at her. "Very well, than. Prepare to enter oblivion." Green lightning surged through the claws on his suit's arms, he slashed at the four and the group split up into different directions. Sonic and Amy in one direction, Tails and Cosmo in the other.

Sonic leapt up into the air and he spindashed towards Lyric. It hit the armored suit and he bounced off of the metal plating.

"You think you can jusssst pound away at my armor?" Lyric stated at him. Amy went to the side and struck the back part of the armor with her piko piko hammer. The clawed tail whipped and knocked her away.

"AHH!" She shouted; Sonic was able to catch her in mid-air.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"I'll be alright." Amy replied. "But he definitely smells like a dead corpse. There's necromancy involved, we need to be careful."

Tails pulled out his scimitar and tried to shine a glare of light into Lyric's eyes; but it didn't work. But it got Lyric's attention away from Sonic and Amy.

"Ha, your little trick issssn't going to work this time." Lyric laughed at him. "Thissss bubble is made from glare-resistant glasssss." Cosmo threw a rock at him, it faced her and he lashed his tail towards her. He opened the claw tail to grab her. She dodged out of the way and the claw slammed right into the trees behind her. "Stand still you little…" He tried to pull the tail back, but it wouldn't budge.

"You stuck your tail onto a spot of highly concentrated tree sap." Cosmo replied. Tails took this opportunity to strike at Lyric's tail and the claw was cut clean off. Lyric hissed in pain and anger. He turned and fired an explosive at Tails. It blew up nearby releasing many smells around the fox. He started to feel nauseous from the overload of scents.

Sonic got down and prepared a spinball; Amy came over with her hammer. She swung her hammer and pushed Sonic forward.

"FOUR!" She shouted. Lyric looked towards her and was struck in the bubble by Sonic's spin attack. There were a few cracks that appeared on the bubble, Sonic bounced off the cracked lens. The blue blur leapt up and zoomed towards the glass bubble again. Lyric spewed fire towards him. Sonic went right through the fire spinning rapidly to keep cool. He smashed through the glass and whacked Lyric in the face. The snake fell backwards as Sonic jumped up and landed next to Amy.

"Now, to finish you once and for all." Tail stated flying towards Lyric; he dodged the flame shot and swung his sword point down. He pierced Lyric in the shoulder; the monster hissed in anger.

"You think you'll have a glad victory?" Lyric stated. "I won't let that happen. SSHHHHHAAAAA!" A blast came from Lyric's mouth knocking Tails back into a tree with blood spraying from the wound. Lyric, himself, fell over and died. Cosmo ran to him.

"Tails… Tails are you okay?" She said. When the fox opened his eyes, she saw the eyes of Lyric staring back at her.

"You're next." Lyric stated through the mouth of Tails. Cosmo gasped in shock. Before she could react, Tails lunged his sword into Cosmo's chest right through the heart. The medereck had perished before she even hit the ground. Sonic and Amy stood there in horror as Tails got up with blood on his chest.

"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE!?" Sonic yelled.

"It's Tails." Amy stated. "It's not him."

"The pink one isss correct. It is an ability I have gain went I returned from the grave." Lyric replied. "I can take temporary control over the one who inflictsss the killing blow against me. I would have the fox kill himself, but where'sss the fun in that. Even though I also have the ability to suppress his awareness during this time, I decided not to. Thusss you can't lie to him; and he will be forever tormented by the death of his loved one, where he is to blame."

"HOW DARE YOU…!" Sonic roared at him, about ready to punch Lyric. But Amy stopped him. Lyric laughed. But as soon as he left him, Tails turned around to face Cosmo. He desperately ran to her.

"Cosmo… Cosmo, please wake up." Tails stated, but there was no response from her. "Please, don't be dead." Tears started to form in his eyes as he held her in his arms. "Cosmo…"

* * *

Amy looked up and she was the only one who saw the raven standing by them. With his scythe, he severed the link between Cosmo's spirit and her deceased body. A ball of light was in his claw when he noticed Amy looking at him.

"Like I mentioned before," the raven stated calmly. "You and MOST of your friends had long life ahead of them. But I had no control over the time of her demise," He looked in his claw and the ball of light that was there had disappeared. He was shocked when he saw this. "And I sense foul play going on. Look into this, Miss Amy Rose."

Then, the raven flew away as Tails wailed an agonizing cry of mourning that echoed across the landscape as the tears poured down his face over his lost love.


	21. Knuckles Chaotix: Pt 1

Knuckles Chaotix: Pt 1

He always liked this time of year, the clouds rolling over head, the cool breeze blowing through his dreadlocks, the soft buzz of the grasshoppers and cicadas all around him. This place was home and as much as he liked the hustle and bustle of the crowds of Soleanna, nothing beat getting a day off and coming home to rest in his favorite spot in the shade.

ZOOOOOM! Knuckles' daydreaming was broke by the sound of a biplane engine that flew by parallel to the island. Opening his eyes to see what the disturbance was, he found the plane was already out of sight.

"Stupid joyriders." The echidna grumbled, reclining back against the master emerald alter once more. "Why do they have to fly this high?" Angel Island was the last echidna's home away from home. The place he liked to retreat to whenever he got time off from Team Sonic, but having it so low to the ground due to the shattering of the master emerald really bothered Knuckles. And he wished to gather all of the pieces and get the emerald back to full power once more. That way he could take the island back up into the stratosphere where it belonged.

"HEY KNUCKLES! I DISCOVERED SOMETHING NEW IN THE OLD ECHIDNA GLYPHS!" A female voice called out. "I was about to translate it but I wanted to let you know before I did."

"Blast it, Relic. Can't you see I was enjoying some peace and quiet?" He grumbled standing up and turning to face the small blue pika. "Why don't you go back to mushroom hill and inhale some of the spores?"

"My my. It certainly a pleasure you are still your same old cheerful self." Relic replied. Her eye twitching "But these glyphs are your legacy. And as the last of the Knuckles Clan, it is your duty to preserve and protect your tribe's history."

"Alright, alright. I'll be with you in a minute." The echidna stated. "Why don't you go on ahead and I will catch up in a few minutes?"

Adjusting her glasses, Relic nodded and left. When he was certain the pika was gone, Knuckles stepped up to the mostly assembled master emerald and gave it a great big hug.

"It's okay, baby. Daddy has some business to take care of." Knuckles stated, rubbing his cheek up against the emerald's smooth surface. "I'll be back just as soon as Mama Relic and I finish with that dusty old echidna writing."

As Knuckles raced from the emerald alter shrine, he ran through the mushroom hill zone bouncing from cap to cap as he made his way towards the hidden palace.

"Gee, I wonder what Relic could have possibly found that was so important." The echidna thought aloud. "It must be pretty big if she went through all the trouble to… Hey, what the heck is that?" Knuckles heard the sound of the plane engine again as the small two-seater roared overhead coming down in the trees at the edge of the forest. "Uh oh. It looks like that aircraft crashed." He said to himself. "I hope the pilot is going to be alright."

Burrowing his way into the ground, Knuckles tunneled through the soil towards the forest's edge. Popping out of the dirt and climbing the trees with his shovel claw, the echidna was surprised to the sound of four familiar voices coming out of the plane above.

"VECTOR, YOU IDIOT! I TOLD YOU TO WATCH WHERE YOU WERE GOING!" An angry voice snapped. "That does it, you are never going to fly our plane during a mission again."

"AH, shut your yapper, you stupid armadillo." The gator growled. "I don't need you telling me off right now. This stupid biplane was a rental and it going to be coming out of our group budget."

"Oh no scale breath, you were the one who insisted on flying the plane." Mighty replied. "So, it's coming out of your pocket. The rest of us shouldn't have to pay for your screw-up."

"Oh no, would you two please stop arguing?" A child like voice pleaded. "Things are bad enough and we don't need you fighting."

"No one asked for your opinion, kid." Vector growled. "And if you don't shut up, I'm going to find out what bee tastes like."

"WHAAA! You're mean!" Charmy cried. "How can you treat a little kid like that?" Knuckles was listening curiously to their conversation when a kunai whizzed by his head. Chopping off one of his dreadlocks.

Sliding down the tree and taking a fighting stance, the echidna noticed a distorted area of color in front of the tree to his right.

"You know, it's not nice to listen in on other people's conversation, stranger." The distorted shape said, pulling out another kunai. "It would be best for you to back off."

"Can the dramatic act, Espio. I know it's you." Knuckles smirked, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Where ever those three goofs up there go, the number one ninja of the Eastern Kingdoms is not far behind."

"Knuckles? Is that you?" Espio made himself visible. "What are you doing up here? I thought you would be with the rest of Team Sonic.

"This is my week off and Angel Island is my home." The echidna replied indignantly. "What are you and your fellow mercenaries doing at my back door?"

"Sorry about that, Knuckles. I assumed you were one of those Nocturnus echidnas skulking about." The chameleon stated. "They have been more aggressive as of lately."

"Well, I'm not one of Ix's goons. And you still haven't answered what you're doing on my island." Knuckles shrugged. "But we'll save that for later. Right now, why don't you get your companions out of that tree and we will head back to the hidden palace. I have a friend waiting for me there."

"Charmy, would you help me get out of this tree, please?"

"No way am I flying you to the ground, scale tail. You way a ton after eating all those breakfast burritos."

The hidden palace was at the very center of Angel Island's highest peak. A large step-pryamid that resembled a Mayan temple from the time Mobius forgot. The five mobians climbed the large stone steps to the door on top where the short mouse mobian waited for them, book in hand.

"Ah, Knuckles. There you are. I was wondering what taking you so long." She stated. "And I see you brought the Chaotix with you as well."

"She's the one who invited us here, Knucklehead." Vector quipped. "She said there might be some treasure hidden in the vault behind the inscriptions."

"You invited these goons to come and take echidna treasure!?" Knuckles roared clenching his fists in anger.

"That's right, dreadhead. We provide protection from any traps and get a share of any loot in return." Mighty added.

"I can't believe you made a deal like that without TELLING ME!" Knuckles yelled angrily.

"Oh, calm down, Knux. Anything they take from the island will have to be approved by you first." Relic turned and walked back into the temple. "Now, if you'll come with me. I found a hidden door down by the treasure vaults." Leading the Chaotix down a series of spiral steps, Relic showed them a massive twenty foot stone door covered in the carved language of the Knuckles clan.

"I can make out some of these glyphs but I can't get the full message." The pika explained. "The door says something about lost souls and a paradise of entertainment, but I can't decipher much more than that."

"Wait, that can't be right." Charmy replied. "It's a door. How can it say anything?"

"Figure of speech, buzz brain." Mighty answered. "Hey, knucklehead. Think you can fill in the blanks for Lara Kraft here."

"HEY!" Relic squeaked. "I resemble that remark."

"Quiet you two, I'm trying to concentrate." Knuckles ran his gloved hands over the glyphs, brushing off the dust and feeling their indentations and shapes. "Grandpa Althair taught me to read these things by touch, not by sight because it doesn't supply the full picture." The echidna closed his eyes for a moment before opening them and replying. "I'm not entirely sure but I believe the message is a memorial to those children whose lives were taken by the monster Chaos." He stated sadly. "It wishes them an eternal happiness in the afterlife and urges any who visit here not to disturb their slumber."

"Esh, that's kind of creepy." Vector replied, shivering. "I don't like the sound of ghosts or spirits one little bit. No treasure is worth that much trouble."

"I agree, it is dishonorable to disturb the spirits of the deceased." Espio added. "Let us leave this place and trouble the departed no more."

"Well, it's not like we could get in anyway." Relic told them with a sigh of relief. "The only way to open this door is to press that round glyph at the very top and there is no way we're going to reach it from here."

"Press the round glyph?" Charmy asked, flying up and putting his hand against it. "You mean like this?"

"CHARMY, YOU IDIOT! NO!" Mighty called out as the giant stone door rolled upward. The floor tilted upward and they all slid down into the room.

"SMOOTH MOVE, CHARMY! You press the circle button, so we could slide." Vector yelled.

"I'm sorry." Charmy wailed. At first, the room they fell into had nothing but darkness and a large pile of echidna bones. But soon, the room began to glow with an eerie light and the sound of several children laughing could be heard all around them.

"Charmy, what did you do?" Espio demanded. "What's going on?"

"Oh no, we've awaken the spirits of the children." Relic replied in horror. "And now, they've come back to have their fun with the living." Suddenly, the room was bathed in a blinding light and the sounds of games and carnival rides filled the Chaotix's ears. One moment, Knuckles was standing next to his five companions in a small requiem chapel. The next, he was in the middle of a midway. The surrounding carnival spread out without end before him.

"Hey, where did everyone go?" The echidna asked looking around. "How on Earth did I get here?"

"Hurry, hurry, hurry, step right up for the Great on Mobius." A voice called out over the intercom. "Be sure to make your way to the big top before the clock strikes twelve."

"Whoa. I don't even know how long that would be, given how that clock over there is moving." Knuckles looked up at the big clock above the ticket booth and saw its hands spinning in an endless cycle at a rapid rate. "I'd better try to find everyone else and get out of here." He thought aloud. "Before it's too late." The last of the Knuckles clan made his way through the endless row of carnival games hoping to find any sign of his companions before it was too late."


	22. Knuckles Chaotix: Pt 2

Knuckles Chaotix: Pt 2

"Ring around the rosies, a pocket full of posies, ashes, ashes, we all fall down."

All around him, Knuckles could see the forms of echidna children running and laughing in every direction. They bumped into the echidna but he felt nothing. No matter how much he tried Knux couldn't make out their faces which were hazy blurs moving through the crowd.

"Hey there, buddy. You look confused." A gruff but familiar voice called out. "Why don't you step right up and try to knock the milk bottles down and win a prize?" Knuckles turned to face the carnival booth the voice had come from. His jaw nearly hit the floor when he saw who was speaking.

"Vector? Is that you?" Knuckles asked. "Why the heck are you dressed in that silly costume?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Mac. I'm just trying to make an honest mobium here?" The gator replied. "Now, three balls and if you knock the bottles down, you win one of these lovely plush animals here." Vector pointed to a bunch of stuffed animals hanging above him. To his horror, Knuckles realized that the stuffed animals resembled Sonic, Amy, Tails, and Bunny.

"Sure, give me the balls." Taking aim at the milk bottles, he through the first ball and missed the stack by a mile.

"Tough luck, kid." Vector chuckled. "But you'll get it with the next ball, am I right?" Knuckles stared at the glass bottle tower and throw his second ball. It bounced right off the milk bottles and landed on the ground without knocking down a single one.

"Oohhh, looks like dumb old Knuckles couldn't knock down the bottles and win one of us." The Sonic plushie taunted him. "But then, Knucklehead never could do anything right."

"Shut up, Sonic. You're always calling me dumb." Knuckle snapped at the plushie. "I don't have to take your insults here."

"But you sure do deserve them, dreadhead." The Tails plushie added. "You could never do anything right and you usually screwed up all of our missions."

"That's not true!" Knuckles screamed back clenching the ball angrily. "I always did my best. Even when I didn't understand what was going on."

"Oh, y'all did your best alright like when y'all were flirtin' with that bat girl when my life was in danger." The Bunny plushie responded. "Y'all never really cared about me at all, did you."

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" Knuckles roared, winding up the ball with all his might. "I SAID 'SHUT UP'!" The ball hit the milk bottle stack shattering them all into a million pieces. Suddenly, Vector screamed.

"NOOOOOOO!" Then, he too shattered into a million pieces. All of the plushies started to giggle and laugh at Vector before they and the entire booth shattered into tiny little pieces. Terrified, he ran off through the midway screaming in terror.

"That didn't just happen. That didn't just happen. That didn't just happen." The echidna mumbled hyperventilating. Stopping to catch his breath, Knuckles came to a brightly colored tent and heard the sound of cheering and clapping coming from inside. "Huh, looks like I found the circus." He said aloud. "I wonder what act is on right now."

Walking through the tent flap, the echidna found himself inside a dark circus tent with only a single spot light on a high-wire trapezes. The entire crowd was in shadow and a voice could be heard over the tent's PA system.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, prepare to be amazed at the death-defying stunts of our star acrobat. I give you, the lovely Miss Pikablu." Suddenly, Knuckles saw Relic in a glittery little skimpy outfit with peacock feathers on the back walk out onto the high-wire carrying nothing but a balance pole.

"Relic, what are you doing up there?" Knuckle exclaimed. "You're afraid of heights and besides you never be caught dead in something like that revealing." Suddenly, two phantom jugglers tossed flaming torches onto either side of Relic's balancing pole. Both sides began to burn up as Relic lost her balance and started to fall.

"Hurry Knuckles, save her, save her." A voice came out of the crowd, quickly it was joined by other voices. "Save her, Knuckles, hurry hurry. Don't be such a failure Knuckles. Save her like you couldn't save us." The tent suddenly lit up and Knuckles could see the audience, much to his horror they were echidnas: Pachacamac, Tikal, Al-thair, and his childhood friends and family.

"Knuckles, why didn't you save us." Alicurion, a red female echidna, asked him. "Why did you let Chaos murder us?"

"I'm sorry mother. I couldn't." Knuckles wailed, tears rolling down his face. "I was too small. There was nothing I could do but hide." The echidna heard a scream from behind him, followed by a sickening wet thud of a small body landing on the ground. Turning back to face Relic, he saw an open gloved hand attached to a tiny blue arm laying on the ground with Relic's open journal clutched in her hand.

"I won't admit this to Knuckles, dear diary. But I think I'm beginning to develop a crush on him." Knuckles read on the open page of the journal as blood oozed out all around it. "He's a really great friend and I know Knuckles would never let me fall."

"AHHHHH!" He ran through the tent in terror, screaming at the top of his lungs.

Still tramutizd by what he had already witnessed, Knuckles wondered towards the ride area hoping to find some sign of the others.

"I've got to get the last three out of here before it's too late." A terrified Knuckles thought aloud. "I can't let the survivors end up like those first two."

As he made his way past the ferris wheel, the echidna spied a familiar armadillo in the same chessy circus outfit that Vector had been in.

"Hey kid, wanna ride on the ferris wheel?" Mighty asked him. "It'll only cost you one ticket."

"Mighty, come on we got to get out of here." Knuckles pleaded. "This whole place is gone crazy and I saw…"

"Sure, I knew you wanted a ride." Mighty picked him up and slam dunked him into the seat pulling the lap bar back. "Now, hold on tight."

"NO! Mighty, I'm afraid of heights!" The echidna screamed in vain. Round and round the ferris wheel went, faster and faster. Knuckles saw the world disappear into a blur of streaking lights and muffled sounds.

Through the haze, Knuckles saw flashes of his friends pleading for help.

"Knuckles, hurry." Tails cried out as Eggman was about to crush him in his egg walker. "I need your help."

"Knuckles, y'all gotta to do somethin'." Bunny cried out as a battle bird soldier was about to shoot her in the head. "I can't survive without y'all."

"Knuckles, we're all gonna die." Amy pleaded as Metal Sonic grabbed her around the throat. "We're not going to… Uggrh!"

"Gee, Knuckles. You sure, are really slow." A familiar snarky voice came through the haze as a the blur all around him changed to blue. "You're too slow to save everyone. Yes, it's up to me again." Knuckles, then, saw flashes of Sonic defeating every enemy and rescuing every friend. "Why don't you just stick to what you're good at? Digging through the dirt and being slow and stupid."

"NOO! I'M TOO STUPID! I'M NOT WORTHLESS!" Knuckles smashed his way out of the ferris wheel seat. Tearing free of the ride, as he soared through the air. "I am sick of you always showing me up. I am sick of always being in second place." Damaged by the echidna's rampage, the ride collapsed falling over on Mighty who stood nearby.

"Oh scrap, this is going to come out of my paycheck, isn't it?" Mighty sighed as the ride crushed him to death.

"MIGHTY! NOT YOU TOO!" Knuckles wailed. "WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING!?"

The echidna ran off through the faceless crowd racing back towards the Midway from where he started. Among all of the laughing faceless children, Knuckles saw a familiar bee holding a balloon.

"Charmy, there you are. We've got to get out of here." Knuckles pleaded running up and grabbing the mobian child's shoulder. "Everyone's dying and this place is turning crazy." But as Knucles turned him around, he was horrified by what he saw. An endless grin was spread across his face and his eyeball sockets were empty. It was like staring into two empty abysses.

"We're all happier here, Knux." Charmy answered. "Join us." Suddenly, the children all around him began to pick up the chant.

"Join us, join us, join us, join us." The children replied.

Knuckles pounded at the ground, desperately trying to tunnel away from all this insanity but the soil would not give way beneath his punches… almost as if it wasn't really there.

"Knuckles, can you hear me?" A familiar voice echoed throughout the park. "If you can hear me, then you have begun to realize the true nature of this place."

"Wait, Espio?" Knuckles called out looking at the sky above him. "Where are you? What's going on?"

"It doesn't matter, Knuckles. Your mind has been clouded by falsehoods." Espio's voice lingered in the wind. "You must focus and find the center. Only the center will wash away all of these deceptions and lies." The chameleon began to chant. "The center is truth follow my voice to the truth."

"What I see are lies." Knuckles declared sitting down on the ground in a meditative position and closing his eyes. "The center is truth. My friends are unharmed. These lies seek to claw away at my identity. They seek to make me feel alone." Knuckles' voice grew angrier. "I am NOT by myself and afraid. I am Knuckles. I am the last of my clan. My friends are always with me and your lies are broken."

Opening his eyes, Knuckles found the entire carnival vanished before him. From the darkness, he saw a glowing Espio emerge. Holding up a kunai, Espio tossed the blade at the darkness.

"ILLUSION SHATTER-NO-JUTSU!" The chameleon screamed. As the darkness shattered like cracked glass and feel away all around him. Looking up, Knuckles found himself back in the metal chamber again. His friends sprawled out all over the floor around him exhausted and weary but unharmed in the center of the room. Espio sat in a meditative position chanting sutras to himself while holding a string of beads to his forehead. "Welcome back to the world of the living, my echidna friend." Espio said with a smile. "It's about time you rejoined us."


	23. Knuckles Chaotix: Pt 3

Knuckles Chaotix: Pt 3

"Is everyone all right?" Knuckles looked around the nearly empty metal chamber. His first concern was for the lives of his friends. Seeing that they were all uninjured the echidna breathed a sigh of relief.

"We're all fine here, Knuckles." Relic replied looking around. "But what in the name of the ancient walkers just happened?"

"It was like there was a bunch of voices talkin' in my head." Vector said coldly, shivering at the memory.

"They guided me through a creepy carnival, kept tellin' me that I was worthless."

"I don't like this anymore." Charmy cried, rocking back and forth in a corner. "I wanna go home."

"I was at the carnival too, but you were all making fun of me." Mighty grumbled, grabbing his head with his hands. "The voices in my head, they drove my anger and made me want to hurt everybody."

"So, the malevolent spirits attacked each of us in our own mind, praying upon our individual weaknesses." Espio explained. "For Vector, they attacked his pride and ego. For Charmy, they poisoned his innocence with fear. For Mighty, they preyed upon his rage. And for Knuckles, they tormented him over his low self-esteem and fears of failure."

"But what about Relic?" Knuckles asked. "And how come you were not affected either?"

"I… I… think that is a story best for another time." Relic stuttered, blushing. "But I have no idea why our chameleon friend wasn't affected."

"I am an enlightened shinobi, a silent warrior of the Chun-nin kingdoms." Espio declared assuming his lotus position. "The teachings of Shinsei allow me to detract myself from negative emotions such as fear or anger."

"So, what are we going to do now?" Knuckles asked. "I want these cursed spirits off my island now."

"The spirits desire to move on, but a cursed entity is holding them here." Espio replied. "If we battle and defeat the entity, we will free them."

"Then, what are we waiting for?" Mighty asked, punching the floor. "As an astronomer would say, 'let's get out there and kick some Uranus'."

"Hahahahaha!" An evil laugh filled the room seeming to come from nowhere and everywhere. Suddenly, Charmy rose up and began floating in mid-air.

"Charmy, what's wrong?" Relic asked, putting her hand on the child's shoulder. "Are you alright?" The bee's head spun around 180 degrees, glaring at them with vacant eyes.

"Foolish mortals. You shall not leave this island… alive." A wicked voice stated.  
"Witness my ultimate power." Suddenly, gold bracelets appeared on the arms of each of the group. Charmy dropped back to the floor unconscious.

"Wait, what just happened here?" Mighty asked, looking at the gold band around his left arm. "That spook giving us jewelry or something?"

"I don't know what's going on here." Knuckles snarled, running forward. "But I'm going to give that demon a piece of my mind."

"NO, KNUCKLES DON'T!" Espio called out. Without warning, the echidna was pulled backwards by an unseen force from his right wrist, flying straight into Mighty and knocking him over.

"Hey, what did you do that for!?" Mighty snapped angrily.

"Sorry, but it wasn't me." Knuckles replied. "I swear I didn't mean to do that."

"Hmm… it appears that our demon friend has tethered pairs of us together." Espio noted, taking out a handful of mystical dust from his ninja pouch. He held up his hand and blew the dust over the arm bracelets. A blue light appeared between several of the bracelets resembling an elastic cord of rope. "These bands connect us together in pairs of two. One cannot move too far away from his partner without getting pulled back. If we are to escape this nightmare, we must work together in teams."

"I'm up for that, buddy." Vector exclaimed, slapping Espio on the back. "Just as long as I get your share of the… OW!" The croc felt a spasm of pain go through his back.

"Hmm, it seems that whatever one of us feels the other one feels as well." Relic noted, looking down at the bracelet that connected her to Charmy. "We better be very careful while making our way out of here."

"That's easy. You and I will make a great team." Charmy exclaimed, bouncing up and down excitedly. "We'll clean that mean old demon's clock."

"Wait, you mean one of us does, the other is pulled along?" A big grin spread across Mighty's face as he stated. Walking over to Charmy, he pulled out a twenty mobium bill. "Hey kid, I'll give you this if you take your jacket off."

"Excuse me for a minute." Relic snapped a vein bulging out above her twitching eye. "I think I forgot to punch out." Walking straight up to Knuckles, she pulled her fist back and let it fly. "Sorry Knux, I know you'll survive this, while the jerk might not. But I want him to feel it."

"Wait, Relic, what are you…?" POW! The pika hit Knuckles in the jaw, barely fazing him. But Mighty was knocked out cold.

"That's what you get pervert." Relic grumbled adjusting her glasses. "And that's also for the time, I climbed up that ladder at the Emerald Alter and you didn't think I noticed you looking up my skirt."

"Look if the three of you are done with your drama, we gotta get out of here." Vector barked loudly getting everyone back on track.

"You're right, Vector." Knuckles agreed.

"Okay, everybody. Let's get out of here. Stay near your partner and try to avoid anything that this beast throws at us." Nodding their heads in agreement, the Chaotix crew followed Knuckle's charge out of the crypt. Racing across the dark and shadowy surface of the island, they noticed the carnival from their nightmares taking shape once again.

"OH NO, IT'S THAT SCARY DREAM!" Charmy screamed. "WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!"

"Try to stay calm, Charmy." Relic told him. "It's in your mind and it can't hurt you."

"That's what you think." The booming voice of a figure in the sky declared. "My minions will happily crush you taking the form of old enemies pulled from your own minds." All of a sudden, the entire carnival was filled with badniks. All around them were motorbugs, buzz bombers, rollers, and penguinators.

"Oh shoot, we've never had to face this many badniks before." A worried Vector commented. "I don't know if we can get out of this alive."

"Banish fear out of your mind, friend Vector." Espio stated. "Concentrate only on the task at hand."

"Okay, boys." Mighty declared, balling up his fists. "Let's get 'em." The Chaotix leapt forward punching, spindashing, and kicking the phantom robots in front of them. Badniks roped up in to puffs of smoke as the team crushed them, but for every one they defeated three more appeared to take their place.

"Guys, there's too many of them." Mighty declared. "We can't keep this up forever."

"Wait, I got an idea." Knuckles exclaimed looking at his bracelet. "Let's turn the handicap the demon gave us into an advantage." Reaching over and picking up Mighty, he crunched the surprised armadillo down into a spindash ball.

"Knuckles, what are you doing?" The panicked Mighty asked.

"Get ready for a game of Bungee Ball." Throwing his confused friend out at the enemy, Mighty struck several of the badniks and made them disappear.

"Not a bad idea." Vector grinned. "Hey, Espio. How about a game of Crack the Whip?" Throwing his arm with the ninja attached, Espio was sent hurling straight at a whole horde of buzz bombers.

"Holy Rain of Justice!" Espio yelled triumphantly. "Kunai-No-Justu!" The ninja launched a rain of hundreds of deadly daggers straight at the badniks pushed on by the force of Vector's throw. The deadly missiles thrust all of the buzz bombers in the sky, making them vanish in a giant cloud of smoke.

"Relic look, the penguinators are closing in on the others." Charmy noted. "We gotta do something."

"I've got such the thing, Charms." Relic declared reaching into her pocket on her vest. "I have just the thing from my dig in Sarsaland. The king's princess gave it to me." Charmy nodded and threw up into the air carrying Relic. The pika pulled out a small black cherry bomb with a wind up key on the side. She turned the key until the bomb began to tick and open a pair of small white eyes. "Let's hope this thing, she gave me during the Olympic Games works." She dropped the explosive onto the penguinator. "Babombs away."

The bomb fell straight onto the mechanical birds, exploding with a loud bang and making them vanish in a great flash of light.

"We did it, we cleared the field of all these badniks." Vector pumped his fist. "Yeah."

"Vector? I don't think it's quite over yet." Espio warned. Suddenly, all of the fog and mist formed together into small black prisms. From the darkness emerged one of the creepiest things the group had seen.

"Oh my gosh, is that Tails?" Charmy asked.

"Looks like some kind of freaky doll." Mighty replied.

Slowly, the animated toy began to move towards them and the Chaotix found themselves unable to move.

"I can't do anything." Relic screamed in terror. "It's going to get us."

"This creature has overwhelmed my chi." Espio exclaimed. "I'm powerless to aid us."

"Oh no, we're all gonna die." Charmy shrieked. "Knuckles, you gotta do something!"

Remembering how he had been unable to help his friends before and the terror that this monster had put him through, Knuckles clenched his fist in a blinding rage.

"Tormented our minds, you attacked my home," Suddenly breaking free, Knuckles jumped at the living toy. "BUT YOU WILL NOT HURT MY FRIENDS!" Driving a powerful fist right into the dark prisms, Knuckles shattered it into a thousand pieces. The living toy almost seemed to scream as it was torn apart into a thousand shadowy pieces. Almost instantly, the sky overhead began clear and the carnival vanished. The sun shone down on Angel Island once more.

"Knuckles, you did it." Charmy said.

"Way to go, Knux." Vector roared giving the echidna a thumbs up.

"You were victorious, Knuckles. Well done." Espio bowed to him.

"Knuckles, I can't believe you saved us." Relic ran up and tackled Knuckles to the ground in a great big hug. "Thank you so much."

And on the breath of the wind, the Chaotix could have sworn they heard a hundred voices saying 'Thank you for saving us.'


	24. Lost in Sorrow's Shroud

Lost in Sorrow's Shroud

Sally was up and about preparing for a girl's night out. Then, Amy came in. She wasn't that happened.

"Oh, you're back." Sally stated. "I was thinking on having a girls night out as a reward. Maybe we can show Cosmo that spa you and Bunny went to last time." Amy didn't respond to that; at that moment, the princess stopped what she was doing now concerned. "Um… Amy, are you okay? You seem down in the dumps."

"Cosmo… won't be joining us." Amy sighed in saddened.

"What's the matter did something happen?" Sally asked. "Where's Cosmo?"

* * *

Marine was in the hallway, when she saw Tails running by with his face covered. She just stood there for a moment.

"Blimey, I wonder what that was about?" Marine asked herself as she continued down the hallway. Then, she came across Sonic and Amy sitting on the couch in the main lobby.

"I just don't know, Ames." Sonic answered a little down. "I don't know if I said something wrong."

"I don't think you did, I hope." Amy stated.

"I mean, I don't know how to deal with these kind of situations." Sonic admitted. "I can make sarcastic comments to keep things under control, but this… this is something out of my league."

"But can't you at least try a little harder?" Amy stated in annoyance.

"I am trying, okay?" Sonic asked in reply. "And…" The two of them looked and saw Marine.

"Oh, uh, sorry." Marine stated blushing. "I was just… uh… you know."

"Marine, can you please check on Tails?" Amy asked. "I'm sure you could do a better job of cheering him up than some others."

"I did what I could." Sonic rebuked her.

"Guys, guys, please." Marine stated trying to calm the two down. "Your fightin' is only going to make things worse." Then, Amy sighed.

"Yeah, I suppose your right, Marine." Amy answered. Then, she paused for a moment. "Marine, you need to get to Tails' room fast. He is in danger."

"Who's attacking him?" Sonic asked. "Badniks?"

"There…" Amy stated. "There's no one in the room."

"How could he be in danger?" Sonic answered since no one is in the room.

"But still he is in a very depressed state." Amy replied to Sonic. Then, she turned to the raccoon. "Go, Marine. The sooner you can get to him the better."

"I'll try for struth." Marine answered as she walked away.

"Now, Sonic." Amy replied. "Let's have a talk about how to be a little more compassionate with your wording."

Marine came to the door of Tails' room. She gently went up to the door where she heard the whimpering of the fox.

"Tails, are you in there?" she asked calmly. "Are you okay? Please answer, Tails." She gently opened the door and found the young fox curled up nearly in a ball. She saw Tails with tears rolling down his face. "Tails?" The fox looked up to see Marine.

"Marine…" Tails stated with tears in his eyes. Then, he cried once again. Marine just went over to him and sat down beside him.

"What's going on?" Marine asked.

"It's Cosmo…" He replied, continuing to cry. "She's gone… Why wasn't I able to save her…?" He paused. Marine just hugged him. "I've completely failed as a hero… At this point, I'll never be as good of a hero as Sonic…"

"Tails," Marine said hugging him. "I believe you did what you could and I believe that Cosmo felt the same way."

"Are you certain, Marine?" Tails asked her.

"I have a reason to believe so." The raccoon replied. "If you need any help with your burden, I'll help you. Sonic can help you. Amy can help you. All of us can help you through these harsh times."

"I, also, picked out something for her. I was going to give it to her when we got back." The fox continued. He pointed to a red box nearby. Marine went over and opened it up. She saw a lavender flower brooch inside.

"That's very pretty, Tails." Marine replied.

"But now, I can't give it to her." The fox continued.

"My recommendation is to hold onto it as a relic." Marine suggested. "It will help you remember the good times with her."

"I'll do what I can." Tails replied trying to lighten up. "From what I heard from the Chaotix, you were among one of the more annoying ones. But I must admit you are a genuine nice and caring person."

"Well, I end up doing most of the chores around the Chaotix headquarters." Marine stated. "It's mostly with three immature little boys and one grown man in the group."

"Really?" Tails asked.

"Yeah, in my opinion, the only mature one is Espio." Marine stated. "I can understand Charmy being immature, he's just a little kid. There's no excuse for the other two."

"I'm surprised that two of the older guys are still need some growing up." The fox answered, now no longer crying.

"If I have time, do you want me to come by tomorrow and we can hang out?" Marine asked.

"Okay…" Tails replied. "At least, to help me get back up on my feet once again. To recover from these scars from Cosmo's death." Marine helped Tails on his feet once again.

The night came and day followed. Marine and Tails went out into the park. Barely any dialogue was spoken as they walked through the greenery. The fox froze in place.

"Tails…? What's wrong?" Marine asked. The young fox didn't answer her. Then, she looked up. She spotted a field of red petunias. "Oh…" She added.

"Can I take one with me?" Tails asked.

"I doubt it." Marine answered. "But I know another way to get one." She guided Tails to a picnic table. She pulled out two pieces of paper, she tampered with the papers until a flower came from them.

"How did you do that?" Tails asked.

"I simply folded the paper until they reach the right shape." Marine answered as she pulled out a bunch of paper. "Would you like to try?"

"Okay." The fox answered as he grabbed a sheet of paper. He still felt down. Then, Marine pulled out a pen.

"How about writing a memory for each flower?" Marine said. "That's what I usually do."

"All right." Tails answered gently taking the pen. After a while, they had made ten flowers, each with a written memory inside. Whenever, the fox's eyes began to water, Marine over her condolences and tissues.

"Are you still sad, Tails?" Marine asked.

"I shouldn't be crying all the time." The fox stated, standing up. "I have to be strong for her sake."

"But don't forget her memory, Tails." Marine answered.

"I won't forget about her." The fox explained. "But I have to move on now. I feel I can continue with my life now."

"You…" Marine stated.

"Can do that now." A lower voice interrupted. And they noticed that the flowers nearby that Tails stared at have now wilted.

"Wait, who interrupted me?" Marine asked. The two mobians looked around.

"Don't even spare her a memory." He voice continued and the two looked towards the voice. They saw the towering figure of a mastodon.

"Mammoth Mogul." Tails stated in annoyance. "What are you doing here interrupting my time with Marine?"

"You know this creep?" Marine asked.

"Sonic and I have encountered him once before." Tails explained to her.

"I just happened to notice that you were making paper flowers…" He used his magic to levitate the ten flowers over to him. "in memory of your precious Cosmo." Then, he burned them in flames. "Don't bother, she had it coming anyways."

"That's a lie, Mogul, leave this instant." Tails demanded.

"Why should I?" the mastodon stated. "I'm just telling you that Cosmo deserved such a fate."

"Now you insult her?" Tails stated angrily. "You have no right to declare who lives and who dies." Then, the mastodon paused.

"Oh that's right. I almost forgot." He stated, smugly. "I told her NOT to tell anyone about the deal." Tails and Marine looked at him in confusion.

"Wait, what deal?" The fox asked.

"A deal that she and I made a while back." Mogul answered.

"What kind of deal?" Tails asked again. Mogul then began to explain what happened…

* * *

 _Cosmo looked in horror as Sonic came into the infirmary in critical condition, after he had been brutally tortured by Metallix. Everyone was frightened on whether or not Sonic was going to make it. Cosmo noticed that everyone was in disarray and close to hopelessness, especially Tails._

 _"I don't know what's going to happen to Sonic." Cosmo thought. "I wish there was something I can do." Just then, Mammoth Mogul came behind her._

 _"Excuse me…" he stated. Then, Cosmo turned around and was surprised to see a mastodon._

 _"Who are you?" Cosmo asked him, not recognizing the mammoth._

 _"I am Master Donald." Mogul stated to her. "But I happen to notice that you are feeling down, what is troubling you?" She paused for a minute._

 _"You see, I'm friends with Sonic the Hedgehog and…" Cosmo said._

 _"Sonic the Hedgehog?" Mogul stated interrupting her. "The great hero of Mobius?"_

 _"Yes." She replied. "He's very injured and in critical condition. I don't know what to do." Then, the mastodon lifted a hand into the air. He brought it back down._

 _"I fear that your hedgehog friend won't survive for much longer." Mammoth Mogul stated to her with sadness in his voice. Cosmo became very upset upon hearing this, not being able to detect the deception that came out of his mouth._

 _"What am I going to do?" She asked in a panic. "What am I going to tell the others?"_

 _"However, I can fix this conundrum." Mogul stated._

 _"You can, Master Donald?" She asked curiously._

 _"I can for you see. I am a powerful sorcerer." The mammoth explained putting a hand to his chest. "I can make it so that way Sonic will survive this and heal him instantly."_

 _"That's amazing." Cosmo replied in awe. "Please, help Sonic."_

 _"Not so fast, little one." Mogul replied to her. "Unfortunately, to have someone survive this, the balance between life and death must remain intact. In other words, someone has to take his place. Who are you going to choose to take his place?"_

 _"I'll take his place." Cosmo answered. The mastodon was surprised to hear this._

 _"You… are you certain?" He asked. "What makes you wish to take his place?"_

 _"He is a great hero as well as the others." Cosmo replied. "I'm not that much of a hero, but if I can at least give one last gift it'll be life."_

 _"Very well, then." Mogul answered. "It will be uncertain when you will perish. But no matter what or when, you must NEVER tell anyone of the dialogue between us, otherwise the spell will be broken." Then, he put out his hand towards Cosmo._

 _"I understand what I have to go through." The medereck answered and she shook his hand._

 _"Then, the deal is done." Mogul answered as he raised his staff. Then, a lightning bolt fired out of the rod and struck the room where Sonic was in. And she noticed that Sonic was completely healed like the mastodon said he would. She noticed that everyone was happy._

 _"Thank you…" Cosmo replied. But noticed that the mastodon was gone._

 _"Don't forget your end of the bargain." Mogul stated to her._

* * *

Mammoth Mogul just laughed as he finished the story about the deal between him and Cosmo. This put a startled look on the faces of Tails and Marine.

"I have never ever seen a moron that bleeding stupid." Mogul replied. "She didn't even realize that I was bluffing about the hedgehog dying from his injuries. Give a few months and he'll be good as new." Tails glared at him.

"You took advantage of our worries about Sonic for your selfish gain." Tails growled at him and he tightened his fists.

"Oh that's the only thing I did." Mogul answered. "I saw a medereck come by my doorstep who went by the name of Lucas."

"Lucas?" Tails stated in surprise.

"He wanted me to get rid of you." The mastodon explained. "And he showed me the skull of a monster called Lyric. Using the skull, I brought back the serpent from the grave. I told him to eliminate you. But to take care of two tasks, I also told him to kill that medereck girl you call Cosmo."

"You… you…" Tails stated getting angrier and angrier at him.

"Oh, yes. One more thing." Mogul hummed. "There was a detail I forgot to mention to her." Then, he pulled out a glass jar, inside was the terrified ghost of Cosmo trapped inside trying to break out. "Her soul will forever be trapped in my possession, thus I can use her essence to rejuvenate myself." Mogul stuck his trunk into the jar and took a mighty sniffed. Cosmo felt as she was being ripped in half, she wailed out in complete torment. A half of her was left in the jar, while the other entered Mogul. He pulled his trunk out feeling a little nauseous. "As long as I keep some in the jar, she will regenerate and I can repeat the process over and over again. But she tastes a little bitter for me."

With moment of seeing Cosmo in such brutal pain caused the young fox to become more and more furious until he finally snapped. Tails roared at the mastodon in total rage with fire was burning in his eyes, and lunged towards him. The fox had the intent of strangling the mammoth for what he did, but he passed right through Mogul. Then, he chuckled.

"You didn't think I would gloat in person now, did you?" Mogul asked Tails. "I find your emotions for this girl amusing, even after you learned about the deal."

"I'm going to take you down and free her from your slimy hands." Tails roared charging a second time. The mastodon continued to mock him with a sinister grin on his face.

"I would love to see you try and free her." The mammoth rebuked him. "But there is no way you can overpower me."

"I wouldn't be surprised if you had Sonic's dad trapped with you." Marine went next to him.

"Sonic's father?" Mammoth Mogul replied. "You think I have Sonic's father as a prisoner?" He chuckled at him. "What do you take me for, an idiot? He is my nemesis who kept foiling my plots. Why would I want him where it will be much easier for him to take me down?"

"Cosmo, can you hear me?" Tails asked. The ghost of Cosmo looked up as though she hear him. "Cosmo, I'm going to get you out of this mess. I promise you."

"Enough…" The mammoth stated, using his magic to throw the two mobians backwards. "But my talks with you are over." He looked at Cosmo as he levitated. "Your dearest will never escape her agonizing pain, and she will always be my captive… for all eternity. The mammoth laughed in a diabolical manner as the phantasmal version of Mammoth Mogul disappeared from sight.

"Damn you, Mogul." Tails stated in anger.

"What do we do now?" Marine asked the fox. He went back to the picnic table and pulled out a pen. The raccoon girl went up to him.

"I had made a promise to Cosmo." Tails replied. She saw the writing on the paper say 'the day I swear to free her from her glass prison'.

"You don't have to go it alone, Tails." Marine said.

"I don't have to." The fox answered. "Even if I can't take on Mammoth Mogul on my own, that doesn't mean he can be defeated that the hands of many."

"I'll help you in any way I can." She replied as the flower was folded and formed a Belvedere. She saw Tails put on the paper flower on his chest and flew up to the top of the tree.

"Mammoth Mogul…" Tails said into the open air with his fist up. "I swear this vow. I will become stronger than ever before and I will rescue Cosmo from your evil clutches and I will make it so you will never again make another person suffer from your wicked deals. As a sign, I shall wear this paper flower on my chest during my crusade against you." He made a momentary pause as a look of determination filled his face. "I will never falter and I shall not rest until this is done."


	25. Into the Void Again: Pt 1

Into the Void Again: Pt 1

Sonic and Tails were waiting in the conference room. Tails was sitting in the room while Sonic was pacing around the room. At that moment, a turquoise humanoid with bright orange hair came into the room. He wore a white lab coat and glasses. He pushed something under a red cloth. Then, Tails turned to see him.

"Hello, Professor Von Schlemmer." Tails said waving to him.

"Von Schlemmer? He's here? Where is he?" The person asked looking around. "Oh, wait… That's me."

"This is Von Schlemmer?" Sonic asked Tails.

"Yeah." Tails said.

"Halo, Tails." Von Schlemmer stated, waving his hands towards him. "I have heard your call and I have built a device that might help you find ze king of South Island." Those words are what got Sonic's attention.

"What is it?" Sonic asked him. The professor pulled off the red cloth and it revealed a device that looked like a phonograph on top of a large computer tower.

"Behold, this is my latest creation: The Spinner Shaker Machine." He explained.

"Uh, what does it do?" Sonic asked.

"It is a transportation machine." Von Schlemmer explained. "It can create a portal to anywhere, but I'm currently working with ze Special Zone first before I can try anywhere else." He started to type on the keyboard that what connected to the tower. Then, he turned on the crank on the phonograph. A tone came out of the horn and a beam fired from it. It created a portal on the wall behind them. "As you can see, where the beam hits an object it creates a portal to said location where it hit, but it will only be open for 10 seconds. So as not to let uninvited guests through the portal."

"The Special Zone?" Sonic said. "Of course, my father could be trapped in there just like King Acorn was."

"But if we was, wouldn't King Acorn know about that?" Tails asked.

"You have a point." Sonic commented. "But I may still be a possibility." Then, the portal closed on them. The blue blur turned to the doctor. "Can you remake a portal? I'm going into the Special Zone."

"Not alone you won't." Tails said.

"Very well, then." Von Schlemmer stated as he re-entered the coordinates. "Communication will still be impossible between realms." A portal reappeared. "I'll make a communicator made specifically for talking through the fabric of space-time."

"Okay, see ya around." Sonic answered. Then, Sonic and Tails headed into the portal and the portal closed.

"I hope they vill be alright." The professor stated, then he looked at his watch. "Oh no, I'll be late for my tea time."

When Sonic and Tails stepped foot into the special zone, they saw that the ground was made with multiple colors in appearance underneath a funky colored sky.

"Whoa, things have greatly changed since I was last here." Sonic stated.

"Changed?" Tails asked him. "What do you mean?"

"Last time I was here, Julain's twin brother was left in here." Sonic explained. "He must have done a great deal of work to make what we're seeing now." Then, he looked on the ground and saw a very large sausage wearing clothes on the ground. "Oh man, someone makes a giant hot dog and leaves it out in the sun." Sonic sighed walking to it. "I guess I have to throw it away."

"AHH!" It shouted with wide eyes, and standing up. The sausage hid behind a nearby tree. "Don't eat me. I taste bad." Sonic and Tails just stood there dumbfounded about what he saw.

"A sentient sausage?" Sonic asked. "A sentient sausage." He paused. "What!?"

"What's your name?" Tails asked the sausage, still in shock that there is a talking sausage in front of them.

"My name is Oscar." He replied. "Oscar Mayer." The two mobians just looked at each other.

"Okaaaay." Sonic answered. "I'm Sonic the Hedgehog and this is my buddy, Tails."

"Nice to meet you." The wiener replied. "You're not from around here, are you?"

"Nope, we are from outside the Special Zone." Tails replied.

"Well, we could use some help in my hometown." Oscar stated.

"Can you lead us there?" Sonic asked.

"Of course, follow me." The hot dog answered. The three of them came across the town of Weinerville. The two mobians saw that all the inhabitants were sentient sausages. The wiener took them to the town hall where they saw a dark brown sausage there.

"Mayor Knackwurst, Mayor Knackwurst." Oscar stated. "I've brought back some people who can help us." The mayor looked towards Sonic and Tails.

"The blue one looks like a scaled down version of the terror." Mayor Knackwurst commented. "Are you sure they can help us?"

"I believe they can." Oscar answered. Then, they heard some grumbling.

"Tails, are you okay?" Sonic asked.

"I just didn't have a lot to eat this morning." Tails stated.

"Don't worry little bro." The blue blur stated to him. "Let's get you something to eat."

The two enjoyed a find meal at one of the restaurants in Weinerville, but then they heard the sound of booming.

"Sonic, is that thunder?" Tails asked slightly scared.

"I don't think that's thunder." Sonic replied. Then, they heard the residents screaming in terror. They saw a forty foot tall creature that almost looked exactly like Sonic enter into the town. "Looks like we got some work to do." Sonic zoomed off.

"Sonic, wait up." Tails stated. The fox noticed that there was two bizzare apple left over from their meal and decided to eat it before joining up with Sonic. The blue blur was the first to arrive.

"HEY, BOOZO!" Sonic shouted at him. "LEAVE THIS TOWN ALONE!" The giant looked down and saw Sonic; he just laughed.

"Puny creature have no chance against me." The giant stated.

"We'll see about that." The blue blur replied, preparing a spindash attack. The giant bunted him away to the side. Then, the fox came to him from behind.

"Ugh," Tails stated falling to the ground. "Sonic, something's happening."

"I know, buddy." Sonic replied. "We need to stop that monster from eating everyone out of house and home, if not the civilians themselves."

"No, it's not that." The fox said as the fox started to grow. "I feel like I'm getting bigger." He paused. "And why do I feel so… so…"

"MACHO!" Tails stated in a more tenor voice.

"Tails, how could you be…?" Sonic asked turning around. Then, his jaw dropped to the floor. "WHAT THE…!? This is gotten surreal." He saw Tails was now forty feet tall like the creature was, but the fox was also now ripped with eight-pack abs.

"Wow," Tails said, flexing his new found muscle. "Now, I know what Knuckles feels like."

"Tails, focus we have a monster on the loose." Sonic exclaimed.

"Oh right." Tails said. Then, he walked over to the monster who was now eating the food in one of the restaurant. "Hey, don't you fight with someone your own size." He grabbed his shoulder and throw him to the side out of the town.

"What happened to Tails?" Sonic asked as Oscar Mayer came up to the hedgehog.

"He must have eaten the Power Orange and the Charm Apple." Oscar replied.

"What are they?" Sonic asked in reply.

"They are two special types of fruit: the power orange makes one grow to enormous size." The wiener said.

"And the Charm Apple?" The blue blur asked.

"It takes your appearance and make guys macho and girls into bombshells." Oscar answered.

Sonic ended up thinking about a ripped version of himself next to a bombshell Amy Rose in a bikini. He focused a little more on Amy before he snapped back to reality.

 _"Uh… I'll just keep that to myself."_ Sonic thought.

"Note that the effects are only temporary." Oscar added. "For about twenty-four hours."

Tails wrestled with the monster. The monster seemed to pin Tails to the ground, but the fox was able to escape the monster's grapple. Tails just punched the monster away and the monster landed on the ground. He put his fists together and tackled the beast. The fox backed up and picked up a mountain and slammed it down on top of the creature.

"YEAH!" Tails stated as the civilians cheered. He turned to look down at Sonic. "Did you see that? I won just using my bare hands."

"I see that, Titan Tails. Just don't let that muscle get to your head." Sonic warned. Then, he turned to Oscar. "Do you have any idea where the creature came from?"

"We don't have a clue where it came from." Oscar answered.

"I see." Sonic replied. Then, another portal opened up near them. From that portal stepped out, Knuckles, Bunny, and Stacy Shade.

"Knuckles, what are you doing here?" The blue blur asked them.

"I heard from Shade that the Nocturnus Clan are holding Nestor the Wise as a prisoner of war." Knuckles explained.

"Who?"

"An echidna scholar." Shade explained. "He had done a lot of research involving the chaos emeralds and the master emerald. It is for our benefit that we free him."

"And what in the world happened to Tails?" Bunny asked in shock. Then, the two echidnas looked up to the giant.

"Hey Knuckles, I'm ripped." Tails replied. "I bet I got more muscle than you." Then, the fox flexed his biceps.

"Well, you have to remember comparative size." Knuckles answered as he flexed his.

"Yeah, the charm apple… boosts your appearance at the cost of brain cells." Oscar added.

"We have the communication devices that can cross dimensions now." Bunny stated. "But how in the world can we fit this giant fox into the portal?" They thought for a minute. Then, Knuckles raised his hand.

"I know…" He said. "Isn't this the Special Zone?"

"Yes." Sonic answered.

"And it doesn't make sense on what happens in the Special Zone?"

"In some parts, yes." Shade answered.

"I have an idea." Knuckles said as he walked to Tails. He pulled out a pin. "Hold on, Tails." He poked his ankle. Then, wind blew out of the hole and Tails went flying.

"Oww." Tails stated before we went flying. "WHOA!" The group just looked in shock on what was happening.

"That doesn't make any sense." Sonic stated. "So, you mean to tell me that most of that was hot air?"

"It was just a random thing to do, because this realm doesn't make any sense either." The echidna stated.

"Or it's some writer with a laptop that's trolling you." Oscar replied. Then, the other four just looked at him.

"And what do you mean, writer with a laptop?" Bunny asked.

"Nothing." Oscar answered.

"In any case, I should get Tails and get out of here before he gets too lost." Sonic said.

"Here take this communicator with you." Shade replied tossing Sonic a communicator.

"Thanks, Shade." The blue blur answered before zooming off.

As he ran, Sonic came across Tails tied up. He tried to run up to him, but he was stopped by a mech driven by a red cartoony looking guy.

"There you are, Sonic. Heeheeheehee." The man giggled.

"Uh… who are you?" He asked.

"Don't you remember me, Sonic? It is I, Dr. Warpnik." The man replied with a slasher smile.

"Oh, you're that guy." Sonic answered trying to sound confident. "Man, you've changed."

"That's right, many hours trapped in the special zone changed me." Warpnik replied. "I've noticed that you want to help this fox. Well, hahaha, let's make a game out of this." The mech grabbed the struggling Tails and the machine jumped and landed in the center of something. Walls popped up from the ground.

"What!?" Sonic stated.

"Try and reach us if you can." Warpnik stated. Then, the ground tilted. Sonic fell onto one of the walls and the entire environment was on its side. "Round and around we go." Then, the maze started to rotate while Sonic was in it. He started to slide down the tunnel until he fell into a large room where he finally got his bearings.

"Okay, this is a whirling maze I think." Sonic stated to himself. "Looks like I need to find my little buddy quickly." Then, the hedgehog got into action and went through various pathways.

"Your maze isn't going to hold back, Sonic." Tails stated to Warpnik.

"Oh, it will. It will." Warpnik answered the fox. "I've set up bumpers, reversals, and things that speed up and slow down the spinning of the maze." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a device. "This in my hand is the only thing that could stop the spinning platform and return it to normal. So, there is no way Sonic could…" He looked back and found the device was gone. "WHAT!?"

"Looking for this?" Sonic asked pushing the button on the device and the terrain reverted to normal.

"No, how could this be?" Warpnik stated, whining. "You must have cheated. I wanna redo."

"Want a redo? Here's a redo." Sonic stated, throwing the device at him. It slammed right in Warpnik's face, knocking him unconscious. Afterwards, Sonic got Tails out of the metal hand and the ropes.

"Thanks, Sonic." Tails replied.

"You're welcome." Sonic answered. "Now, let's get out of here before more craziness happens."


	26. Into the Void Again: Pt 2

Into the Void Again: Pt 2

Knuckles the Echidna had seen many strange things in his life, from the terror of King Boomboo to the mysterious magic of the Wizard Nagus. He had faced angry battle birds and rampaging robots. But in all of his heroic career, he had never seen anything this utterly bizarre.

"Whoa, I'm getting dizzy." Knuckles exclaimed trying to hold on to the ground. "Where are we? When are we? What's going on around here?"

"It's like we're in a giant dryer or somethin'." Bunny exclaimed grabbing her head in pain. "Everythin' keeps spinnin' and spinnin' and spinnin'."

"The zone's lack of direction is throwing off our sense of balance." Shade warned. "We need to focus if we don't want our equilibrium thrown off." The great stone maze spun around them in circles. Tumbling the three freedom fighters around like socks in a dryer. All around them spun a dizzying swirl of power rings, color-changing gems, and psychedelic birds and fish.

"Whoa, I'm getting dizzy!" Knuckles exclaimed stumbling back on a stack of gems. "I think I'm gonna lose my chili dogs."

"Knuckles, wait." Shade cried out. "Don't lean on those gems. They'll give way under…" But even, as she speak the gems changed colors several times before vanishing.

"AHH!" Knuckles tumbled downward. Shade reached out and grabbed his arm before he tumbled into the endless abyss.

"Easy there, I got you." The echidna girl told him.

"Ya'll need to be more careful, Knux." Bunny added. "We don't want you to disappear into nothing."

"I could handle this place a lot better if it would just stop spinning and spinning." The red echidna replied. Just then, everything around them came to a halt. "Well, that's just great."

"Everything's suddenly gone dark and the maze has disappeared." Shade noted. "Just what exactly is going on here?"

"Well… my-my-my it seems some new playthings have found their way into my home." A crazy voice with a lisp muttered. "Perhaps you have all come to play some games with me?"

"Wait, I know that voice." Knuckles replied with a shiver. "I recognize it from the Archives of Team Sonic's adventures without me."

"Oh no, it is the demon." Shade shook in terror. "The demon who inhabited this place when we first arrived here."

"But Shade-honey, that's Dr. Warpnik. The evil scientist who was thrown into the Void during a fight with Sonic." Bunny commented. "How could he have possibly been here when your people arrived?"

"Time has no meaning in the special zone." Warpnik giggle insanely. "Up is down. Left is right. Horizontal is vertical. Tabletops are cheese. And straight is-"

"Don't say that." Shade interrupted. "There's Nocturnus children in here."

"Crooked." He finished with a maniacal laugh. "But it's time for some good ol' classical F. U. N."

"Good thing he finished that with a third letter, sugar." Bunny shook her head. A glowing light appeared in front of the three mobians that changed into the most bizarre thing they had ever laid eyes on. A spindly cartoon-like mad scientist with brown pants a white lab-coat and gargantuan shoulders appeared before them. Most terrifying of all was the fact, he had a goofy red cartoony head with buckteeth, glasses that were part of his face, and a blonde toupee that floated above his head like a chao ball.

"Holy heck, what happened to him?" Knuckles asked in shock. "He looks like one of those characters on the preschool shows that Cream watches."

"He has been twisted by the nature of the Special Zone." Shade explained. "It follows his warped will as if he and the zone were one."

"Correct, you are and your dear overlord, Ix, has been really buddy-buddy with me." The crazed scientist declared, picking up Mr. Puffykins and slurped him down, pulling him out of the sleeve of his coat. "So, it's decided to give me a new toy to play with."

Warpnik snapped his gloved fingers and a tied up echidna appeared beside him.

"Nestor!" Shade exclaimed. "What are you going to do with him?"

"He's the game we're going to play." Warpnik chuckled. "You're going to run down a race track that has rings and mines along the obstacle course. You must collect a hundred and fifty rings in order to pass the first obstacle." He rubbed his hands together. "But if you hit one of the mines, your rings all go flying and I win."

Suddenly, a tunnel appeared all around them and Nestor floated down to the very end of the track. Rings and explosives appeared on the path ahead of them.

"Guys, you two try to reach Nestor from here." Shade declared, twisting a dial on her armor. "I'm going to run the course with Warpnik unable to see me." She faded from sight and the crazy scientist just laughed.

"Visible or Invisible, it doesn't matter to me." He giggled. "The mines will blow you up all the same."

Knuckles and Bunny raced forward dashing to the left and right to avoid the deadly explosives while they collected rings.

"Wow, this is quite a workout." Bunny gasped jumping over a mine and racing into a path of rings. "Y'all gotta invite me to do this more often."

"Sure, Bunny. I love to have you along for a workout." Knuckles replied, smashing the side of the wall to make one of the mines explode ahead of him. "How would you feel about lifting thousand ton weights?"

"Uh, I think I'll pass sugar." Bunny shook her head. "That's a few thousand too light for me." She grabbed her metal arm and smiled. The two spin-jumped over an entire row of mines and dashed forward to collect a final string of rings.

"Hey, you're about to win no fair." Warpnik whined snapping his fingers again. "Well, it's time to change the game." As Knuckles and Bunny reached the last ring, it turned into a mine. Exploding on them both and scattering their rings, everywhere.

"It's over. it's over. I win. I win." He declared, prancing like a toddler on sugar. But when he looked over to where Nestor was tied, he screamed in shock. "What? Where did my toy go?" At the end of the track, Shade reappeared in tying Nestor and running up to her two friends.

"Come on, let's get out of here." Shade stated to them.

"Hey, how did you do that?" Warpnik demanded. "No one can get through my mind field track."

"I didn't go through your track, idiot." She stated to him. "I simply went invisible, climbed over the wall of the track and ran down to where Nestor was tied up."

"NO FAIR, YOU CHEATED!" Warpnik spat. "THAT'S AGAINST THE RULES!"

"Whoever said, I follow the rules." Shade replied. "Especially when dealing with an even worse cheater." Warpnik's voice screamed enraged all throughout the zone. The maze and the track began to crumble all around them as Nestor gazed in terror.

"The human fool is having a childish tantrum and the whole zone is reacting to his emotions." Nestor declared running ahead of them. "I recommend haste in our departure before we crumble with the rest of the Zone." The four ran ahead as everything around them crumbled into nothingness, a portal made of light suddenly opened in front of them, beckoning them to leave this place of insanity.

"That door up ahead." Knuckles cried. "It's our only hope."

"Are you sure, knucklehead?" Bunny asked. "Y'all don't even know where it leads."

"We don't have a choice." Nestor replied. "Hurry, everyone into the portal at once." The four mobians jumped into the circle of light.

They found themselves instantly transported from a decaying place of madness to a cold and foreboding palace made of crystal and ice. The permanency and strength of the icy walls was a symbol of pure order, the total opposite of the chaos they had just come from.

"Oh great," Knuckles grumbled, facepalming his hand against his forehead. "Where the heck are we now?"

"Welcome back, Nestor." A deep voice rumbled throughout the structure. "I did not expect you and your little friends to get away from the madman and his games."

"We're in Nagus Castle." Shade explained. "My people took refuge here when we were banished to the Zone."

"I have been waiting an eternity for the four of you." Imperator Ix declared rising from his crystalline throne and floating down to greet them. "Or has it only been five minutes? Time is such an obsolete concept here."

"We're here to put a stop to your treachery, Ix." Nestor announced, punching his fist into his hand. "And to make you pay for the hundreds of innocent lives you've taken."

"What you talking about?" Knuckles asked in confusion. "What lives did he take?"

"Ix is the one whom contaminated the creature, Chaos, with a toxin that drove him mad." Nestor explained. "He is indirectly responsible for the destruction of the Knuckles clan."

"What!?" Knuckles exclaimed. His eye twitching in a vile rage. "I'll kill that monster for destroying my people."

"NO! KNUCKLES, WAIT!" Shade protested but the enraged echidna raced forward driving his fists into the face of the Emperor. But just before he hit, an energy field appeared and blocked his blow.

"Hahahahahaha, foolish child of the guardians." Ix snarled. "You are no match for my power. You are just as foolish as your family was, their ignorance to my glory made them unfit to live in the perfect world I will make."

"You'll never get the chance to make that world, you rattlesnake." Bunny declared tightening her metal fist. "We're gonna knock you from one end of the Special Zone to the other."

"I love to see you try that." Ix replied, unimpressed by the mobian cyborg. "In my new world, imperfections such as yourself will be cleansed, removed like an infection from a healthy body." He went over to the panel. "Now, let me introduce you to my perfect antibody."

"RAWR!" A watery roar filled the chamber as the clear form of Chaos oozed into the room. Six emeralds were within his body, circling around his innards. The beast saw the five mobians and lunged forwards slashing his watery claws and tail. The emperor jumped out of the way.

"Watch where you are throwing those, you mindless brute." Ix shouted at him in anger. The watery blob made some kind of strange noise at the echidna before turning to face the other four. He attacked them with swipes of his extended arms causing the four heroes to jump and dodge out of the way.

"This guy is too fast." Knuckles stated. "What are we going to do?" The four mobians could only look on in terror as the creature prepared another attack…


	27. Into the Void Again: Pt 3

Into the Void Again: Pt 3

"Everybody, duck and cover." Knuckles exclaimed as the three mobians dove for safety. "Angry water monster at 3 o' clock." Two watery tentacles lunged at the mobian trio, barely missing them as they swept the battlefield. Seeing his trio of targets had eluded his watery grip, Chaos leapt towards Nestor the Wise. Both of his watery talons ready to taste blood.

"Yes. That's it, my pet." Emperor Ix gloated. "Destroy these so-called heroes who dare to stand against my divine will." Chaos roared in anger, a challenge to all of the mobians in front of them.

"Guys, this isn't going well." Shade exclaimed. "He's taking everything we can dish out. There's got to be a strategy that will allow us to get the better of him." Nestor tried to free himself but only managed to irritate the creature into squeezing him tighter.

"AHH!" the echidna sage screamed in agony.

"Nestor! Don't worry, I got you." Knuckles stated. Diving straight for Chaos' outstretched arm, he sliced the aquatic appendage in half, freeing Nestor causing the creature to writhe in pain.

"Good going, kid." Nestor commented. "Now, don't you guys let that ball of snot get the better of you. Don't let up for a second."

"I'm on it." Shade declared, leaping into the air and throwing a series of glowing spheres into the middle of Chaos. The grenades seemed to float in its slimy body for a few seconds before an explosion happened to reduce the feared god of destruction to a few snot puddles. "Yeah, we did it. We won."

At that moment, they could see several of the blue fragments of snot-like goo crawl towards each other and reform back into Chaos.

"Darn, I thought we had him that time." Knuckles said, snapping his fingers. "We got to find a way to make it fall apart and stay that way."

"You fools, Chaos is the god of destruction." Imperator Ix boasted. "Such a creature cannot simply be destroyed as long as the power of six emeralds are with him."

"Then, we need a way to sever that power." Shade added, jumping out of the way of a chaos spear blast. "There has to be a way to neutralize the emerald energy inside of him."

The creature roared in defiance, lunging a hand at the trio again causing them to leap out of the way. As Bunny turned to look back at Chaos, he noticed two glowing shards inside the beast's body.

"Knuckle-hun. Ah see somethin' strange floatin' around inside the beast." She called out. "Y'all think it could be somethin' important?" Knuckles gazed at the two shiny shards drifting through Chaos' slime and his internal radar suddenly went off.

"Those are Master Emerald shards." Knuckles exclaimed. "How did they get in there?"

"Chaos must have sensed their power and mistook the shards for two of the emeralds." Shade explained. "He must have absorbed the pieces sometime after he got free."

"Knuckles, I think I know what we need to do." Nestor chimed in, stroking his beard. "Do you see all of those power rings lining the room?" The three heroes looked up and saw row after row of floating power rings going up the walls.

"Yeah, so."

"The rings are pure order, just like the Master Emerald is." Nestor smiled. "If one of you were to collect the rings and charge directly at Chaos feeding their energy straight into the shards…"

"The power of order would charge the two emerald shards and neutralize the six chaos emeralds inside of him." Shade finished. "Nestor, you're a genius."

"Girls, keep this disgusting blob busy while I get the rings." Knuckles stated, scratching his nose. "Then, we've got a greasy blob to fry… Cajun-style."

"Y'all got it sugar." Bunny agreed. "Hey, you big tube of glittery toothpaste. Bet you can't catch me." RAWRR! The creature fired two eye beams at Bunny, hitting her straight on each ear. "HEY!" She screamed jumping over to the far side of the room. "You burned my ear bows off." Angrily, Bunny fired her cybernetic arm deep into the center of the beast, slamming her extended fist right into his soft and vulnerable brain. The entire monster quivered and writhed in agony before sending a charge of pure chaos energy straight up Miss Rabbot's arm. "AAIIIIIEE!" Her body lit up like a pinball machine. "HOLY HOPPIN' HORN TOADS!"

"BUNNY!" Shade exclaimed, charging up her wrist blaster and firing. The shots seemed to only make the blob-like creature angry as it moved its way towards the armored echidna girl.

Meanwhile, Knuckles began jumping up the crystal shards sticking out of the wall, climbing with his shovel claws farther and farther until he reached a ledge just below the ceiling.

"This is it. This is a moment in a man's life when he finds out whether he's an echidna or a mouse." Pulling out his wallet, and looking at a picture for a moment. "My apologizes to you for that last comment, Relic." Driving down from the ceiling, Knuckles glided around and around in circles collecting the endless rings of rings that mysteriously floated over everyone's heads. "Boy, I wish Sonic could see me right now." He chuckled. "He'd be so jealous he couldn't use his light speed shoes here." He thought for a moment. "Gee, I gotten almost 100 rings now. I wonder when I'm going to earn an extra life.

"Knuckles, hurry up with those rings up there." Shade screamed pulling out her chaos blades; jumping right at the attacking creature's head, she sliced the charging Chaos right across his glowing eyes. "All the better to see me with."

"Bad form, Shade. Bad form." Ix stated, shaking his head. "You're not half as honorable as your late sister was."

"HOW DARE YOU BRING UP MY SISTER!?" Shade roared, leaping right at Ix and slashing him at a moment he was unprepared. "YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO TALK ABOUT HER, YOU BAST-."

"NOO! SHADE, DON'T!" Bunny called out. "HE'S TRYING TO DISTRACT YOU!"

"ARGH!" Ix roared as he moved to block Shade's attack with his staff. The chaos blade cut his scepter in half causing it to flicker and fade out. "STUPID CHILD! You have destroyed my control rod." Suddenly, Chaos grabbed both mobian girls in his tentacles. "But it really doesn't matter because Chaos is going to destroy both of you anyway."

"AHH! KNUCKLES, HELP US!" The two girls were engulfed by Chaos pulled into his quivering mass of a slimy body and began to absorb all of their energy.

"Hang on, girls. I'm coming." Knuckles stated, gathering the last of the rings, gliding straight down towards Chaos. The last of the Knuckles clan let out a defiant roar as Chaos opened is wide jaws and shallowed the poor little echidna whole.

RUHHUHHUHHUH! Huh? The disgusting blob of Chaos started to laugh until a golden light shone from deep within him. The creature began to panic and flail about as rays of light burst from his body.

"NO, YOU IDIOT! SPIT THEM OUT! SPIT THEM OUT!" Ix screamed, realizing what the heroes were trying to do. "IF YOU DON'T YOU GOING TO…" BOOM! At that moment, Chaos suffered from emerald indigestion. When the light faded, there was no trace of the blob or Ix anywhere. The four mobians were laying on the ground engulfed in a green and slimy goo.

"Eww, this is gross. This is so gross." Shade added. "It reminds me of a weird dream I once had after eating too many pizza rolls one night."

"Ugh, I think we beat him." Knuckles replied, climbing out of the goo and wiping it off his face and arms. "Is everybody alright?"

"I believe we are all in good condition except for Ix." Nestor commented looking over at the slimy spot where the emperor had been standing. "I believe it was possible he was vaporized in the ensuing explosion of order energy."

"Hey, where's Bunny?" Knuckles asked, looking around. "Has anyone seen Bunny?" The three survivors looked around until they saw a large cocoon-like ball of snot moving at the far side of the chamber. A pair of floppy rabbit ears could be made out moving in the snot pile.

"Bunny, is that you?" Knuckles called out, running out to where the moving slimeball was. "Bunny, are you okay?"

"Ah… Ah think so, sugar." The rabbit mobian replied. "But I feel kinda funny." Bunny Rabbot stood up and everyone present let out a gasp. Where he metal arm and legs had been were now flesh and fur, exposed for all to see.

"Bunny, your robotisized parts…" Shade stated. "They are normal again."

"What are you…" She said as she looked down. "HOLY HORSE APPLES! I'm me again."

"Hmm… the chaos energy must have restored yourselves to normal somehow." Nestor explained. "I believe you should find your appendages are as good as new." Just then, the whole room began to shake and rumble all around them.

"Hey, what is that?" Knuckles asked. "What's going on?"

"The crystal palace must have been damaged by the chaos-order explosion." Shade explained. "We better get out of here before the whole place comes down." The four mobians quickly fled out of that part of the special zone leaving a crumbling pile of shattered crystal in their wake. But after they had fled the area and departed, a lone fist burst out of the debris covered with green snot and wearing Ix's dark glove.

"It's not over yet, Knuckles…"


	28. Entering Bygone Island

Entering Bygone Island

"Boy, what a situation we are in." Sonic stated, trying to assess the situation with his companions while at the headquarters with Tails, Amy, and Knuckles. "We know that Imperator Ix has six of the chaos emeralds while we don't have any."

"Well, as long as the nut ball doesn't have all the emeralds, we should be fine from what Tikal had explained." Knuckles commented. "Chaos can't become Perfect Chaos unless he all seven chaos emeralds."

"We don't have any leads on where they might be." Tails said.

"I think we should try to start with Bygone Island." Knuckles answered.

"Bygone Island?" Amy asked.

"I learned about that place awhile back from Eggman." He stated. "It is a difficult island to reach and it is one of the few places that Julain didn't take."

"Bygone Island." Tails answered. "Of course, if Imperator Ix gets there and claims it, it'll be difficult to do a strike against him. It'll be a perfect place to hide to."

"Knowing that the Nocturnus Clan were allies to the battle birds, they would know about the place and its importance." Amy said.

"What are we waiting for?" Sonic answered. "Let's get to Bygone Island asap."

* * *

The four of them took the Tornado and flew out of the hanger over the waters. After some time flying, they arrived at the tropical island. Tails had landed the plane on the sandy beach. Sonic was the first one to step down.

"There doesn't appear to be any trace of Imperator Ix." Sonic stated. "But we need to make sure to go over the island before…"

"SONNY!" a glad voice shouted. Then, a blue hedgehog with a brown taupe wearing a Hawaiian shirt and Bermuda shorts came out and hugged him.

"Wait, what!?" He stated. The other three looked at him as they got off the plane.

"I'm so glad that you are okay, my son." He stated. Then, Sonic looked at the guy.

"What, dad?" Sonia asked.

"I knew you'd remember me." He answered.

"This is Sonic's dad?" Tails asked.

"Wow." Amy replied.

"The queen must have a really weird taste in men." Knuckles stated.

"I'm just surprised to actually find you here, dad." Sonic said stunned.

"Don't worry, son." He replied. "I was looking for you. You must have been worried."

"I sure was. I'm just glad you're safe."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Hedgehog." Tails said.

"Oh, Sonny. Who are these ones?" The hedgehog asked.

"These are my friends." Sonic said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Knuckles added.

"The same with you as well." The older hedgehog answered.

"Uh, Mister Hedgehog? What's that glass thing hanging from your shirt?" Amy asked. The hedgehogs looked down.

"Oh, dear. I didn't know my monocle had fallen off." He stated. "Thank you, kind sir."

"SIR!?" Amy stated, loudly. "I'M A GIRL!"

"Huh?" The hedgehog answered as he put the monocle on and looked at Sonic. "WAIT A MINUTE, YOU'RE NOT SUNNY!" He backed off of Sonic a good distance. "I am terribly sorry, I confused you for someone else."

"I thought it was too good to be true." Tails thought.

"Well, who are you anyway?" Sonic asked.

"My name is Jules." He stated. "And you are?

"Sonic the Hedgehog." Sonic answered.

"OH MY GOD, IT'S SONIC THE HEDGEHOG!" Jules stated. "I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!" He turned to the nearby house. "BERNIE! BERNIE! SONIC THE HEDGEHOG IS RIGHT OUTSIDE!" Then, another blue hedgehog with a blonde tuft of hair looked out the window.

"AAAAAAH, OH MY GOD, SONIC IS HERE!" Bernie shouted. "I didn't expect a world hero to be here. I better set the table and make some dinner for the guests." Knuckles started to hide behind Tails.

"Knuckles, why are you behind me?" The fox asked the echidna.

"I'm scared of these guys." Knuckles stated.

"Why?" Tails asked in confusion.

"Can't you see his wife looks like Sonic in drag?" Amy went over to Sonic.

"Do you… know these guys?" She asked.

"I don't know them." Sonic stated covering his eyes.

"It'll take a while for dinner to be made." Jules stated. "What do you want to talk about?"

"First off, what can you tell me about your son?" Sonic asked.

"Well, he's a cyan hedgehog." Jules stated. "There aren't a lot of hedgehogs on this island."

"Okay…" He replied. "Do you know anyone who might have a motive to strike against you?"

"What's a motive?"

"A motive… nevermind." Sonic answered.

"Do you know anyone who might be bad guys?" Amy asked him.

"Well, there is the lightning bolt society." Jules stated scratching his chin. "We're worried now, if they didn't kidnap our son."

"Don't worry, we'll get your son back." Sonic answered.

"Is there anyone on this island who might help out?" Amy asked.

"Well, there is the guardian of the jungle." Jules replied. "But…"

"But what?" Tails asked.

"She's a little crazy."

 _"She's the only one."_ Knuckles thought to himself.

"We'll get your son back. Just tell us where this guardian is and we'll have your son back before dinner." Sonic stated.

"She's in the forested area nearby." He pointed to the nearby jungle.

"Alright, let's go guys." He stated.

They entered into the area. There was trees around the area and the four walked through vigilantly looking for the hedgehog named Sonny.

"Who were those guys?" Tails asked.

"Just a bunch of hilljacks." Sonic stated.

"How do you know that?"

"When I was living with Grandpa Paulie on South Island, we lived in a country home." Sonic explained. "Our neighbors were farmers and we would occasionally help them with the land.

"I didn't know you were a country boy, Sonic." Amy stated in surprise.

"Yeah, I kind of am." Sonic replied. "My grandpa was never a fan of living in a city. And I learned that some mobians give the rest of the country boys a bad name." He went up and turned around. "Don't worry, I'm sure we won't find any more of them on this…"

At that moment, Sonic got hit by a green camo-colored jeep. There were two bears in the jeep that had stopped.

"Mike, did we just hit somethin'?" One of the bears asked.

"Gritz, you always say I hit somethin'. Quit complainin' 'bout my drivin'." The other stated. They turned and faced the other three.

"Whooey! Look at that dame." Gritz stated. "She's a very nice broad."

"Let's take her back and treat her to a nice meal." Mike answered. Gritz threw a lasso out and it wrapped around Amy Rose.

"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU…?" She stated. She was pulled onto the vechile by the rope. "HEY!"

"AMY!" The other two shouted.

"LET ME GO, YOU BRUTES!" She shouted as she struggled to escape from the bounds. The jeep took off with her revealing Sonic face-first in the mud. He looked up and saw the license plate say 'Git Er Dun' on it.

"SONIC!" She shouted.

"Ow." He stated as Tails and Knuckles went up to him and help him up.

"Sonic, two bears just came up and drove off with Amy." Tails said. Sonic looked up and saw the tire tracks made by the jeep.

"You two, go and find the guardian of the island. I'll go rescue Amy from some rednecks." Sonic answered.

"I hear ya." Knuckles replied. Then, the group split into their respective paths.

* * *

Tails and Knuckles arrived at a burrow in the middle of the jungle. The two stood there in confusion at the place.

"What is this place?" Tails asked.

"I don't know." Knuckles answered. "Maybe there is someone home and we can ask the resident about the guardian of the island."

"Hey, what are those voices of there?" a feminine voice stated.

"It's just some guys outside." Tails answered.

"It's you again?" She stated. "I'm ready for ya."

"Ready for us? We don't even know you." Knuckles answered.

"You're not gonna take my brain or lock me away." She stated as she came out. She was an orange and black badger wearing leather skins. "YOU'RE NOT TAKIN' ME OUT!" She charged right at them with a wooden boomerang in hand.

"WHOA!" Tails stated as he dodged out of the way. She was paying attention particularly at Tails that she didn't notice Knuckles. The echidna swung down a big tree branch knocking her out.

"What?" Knuckles answered. "It was out of self-defense." A while later, the badger came to tied up in a chair. She struggled to get out but couldn't. She noticed the boys right nearby. "Oh, you're awake."

"Let me outta here this instant." She stated.

"Hey, hey, calm down." Tails said.

"How can I calm down when you're a double crossing government agent conspiring with an evil alien overlord?" She replied. "Let me tell you, I've prepared for your petty invasion of Mobius." The two guys just looked at her.

"Ooookay, um…" Tails answered. "I was asking if you can tell us where we could find the guardian of the island."

"What do you want with the guardian of the island?" She asked.

"Sticks the Badger, guardian of Bygone Island." Knuckles added.

"HOW DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM!?" She roared. "HOW DID YOU INFILTRATE MY MIND!?"

"I just read the sign that was outside your door." Knuckles replied.

"Oh…" Sticks stated, calming down. "But how can I know I can trust you?"

"We are from West Side Island." Tails replied.

"Ah, West Side Island, the only place that isn't affected by the evil aliens." Sticks stated. "Okay, I can trust you now." Then, Knuckles released her. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." He answered. "What are you talking about?"

"I have seen the signs of an alien invasion coming in the future, and Mobius will be under attack." She started to hyperventilate. "And they are going in invade our minds. And and make us their mineless slaves." She was shaking Tails as she said this. Then, she let go. "But don't worry, I have contacts with guys to mass produce tin foil hats to protect the population from enslavement."

"Uh, I think she's a little crazy." Tails whispered to Knuckles.

"You think?" Knuckles replied.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sonic caught up and found the jeep was parked. It was nearby was a wooden shack with an outhouse. He found the two bears sitting on ball chairs made from a satellite dish. But so far, he didn't see Amy.

"They must have her kept in that shack." Sonic thought as he tried to sneak by them. Then, he heard the sound of a cocking shotgun.

"Now, where are you goin' intruder?" Griz stated with the shotgun.

"You kidnapped my girlfriend, Zeb and Clem." Sonic answered them. "And I'm going to save her."

"We aren't Zeb and Clem." Mike stated. "We're Mad Mike and Big Griz."

"That's what it says on our platinum belt buckles." Griz stated.

"Wait, you can afford having a platinum belt buckle but can't afford to get a new car?" Sonic asked in confusion.

"Hey, that car is special!" Mike stated. "We found it while we were mowing our lawn."

"Listen, if you don't leave right this minute." Griz commented. "We will capture you and throw you over the ledge."

"And you will see why it is called Nutcracker Cliff." Mike replied. Then, he motioned to Griz. "Griz, check to see if the squirrel nuggets are ready. It'll be dinner time and save some for the pretty broad."

"I'm not leaving without Amy." Sonic answered.

"So, that's her name?" Mike stated. "I'll remember that. But you aren't goin' to find her in the home we built."

"Yeah, she's in the outhouse." Griz added.

"Griz, be quiet." Mike rebuked focusing on him. "We can't let that blue rodent know where we hid the broad." Then, he turned back to the hedgehog. "Don't mind him, he's an idiot. What the…" He noticed Sonic was gone. The bear turned and noticed Sonic got Amy out of the outhouse and untied. "HEY, STOP!"

"Let's get out of here." Sonic stated. Without thinking, Sonic and Amy got into the jeep and drove off.

"HEY, THEY'RE STEALIN' OUR JEEP!" Griz stated, firing off rounds towards them.

"Quick, get to the pickup." Mike answered. Then, Da Bears chased the jeep with a red yet slightly rusted pickup truck. They chased them down the road and passed a turkey's house. The sputtering and blasting from the Bear's pickup frightened the turkey.

"TAKE COVER!" the turkey shouted as he hid in the house. "THE HATFIELDS ARE SHOOTIN' AT US AGAIN!"

Sonic drove the jeep towards the area where a car could enter a cornfield and turned off the car. He and Amy got out of the jeep and ran into the field. Da Bears stopped their truck in a way that the jeep couldn't escape.

"We got 'em now." Mike stated.

"There's no way that they could escape us." Griz answered. But then, they saw a light surround the truck and it started to levitate. "What's happenin' Mike?" Then, the two bears looked up.

"Oh no, not those guys again." Mike replied in fear as they saw a UFO right above them. They saw red and black aliens.

"Probing! Probing!Probing!" The aliens chanted, repeating the phrase.

"AAAAAAHH!" The two screamed. Then, the UFO took off with the two bears and the pickup.

* * *

The five were able to converge together again near a trailer park. They stopped to catch their breath for a moment.

"Sonic, we got the guardian of Bygone Island." Tails answered.

"So, this is Sonic the Hedgehog?" Sticks asked.

"Yep." Sonic stated. "And Amy is freed." Then, Knuckles sniffed the air.

"Why does Amy stink?" He asked.

"I don't want to talk about it." She replied in irritation.

"Well, it's time to find Sonny." Sonic answered.

"Help me." They heard a voice from the trailer park say and they turned to the area.

"It sounds like a kid's voice who needs help." Tails added.

"Let's go." Sonic answered. The five of them entered into the trailer park until they came across a very large trailer with a lot a propane tanks nearby it that was separate from the others. They had found the cyan hedgehog kid as a prisoner and found a few mobians in red robes and each was wearing a fez.

"So, what do we do with the kid?" the first one asked.

"Well, we are going to use him to take over Bygone Island." The second stated.

"Hey, what gives you the right to boss us around?" the third asked.

"Because I'm the one who has the purple fez." The second bantered. Team Sonic huddled together and formed a plan, while Sticks went to the side and through her boomerang at them.

"It's a badger chick." The first one said.

"After her." The third one replied. The three followed Sticks completely leaving Sonny behind.

"Well, that's one way to get rid of some bandits." Tails stated. Amy went forward and untied the boy and got him out of there. The fox went over and opened the propane tanks; he hid with the others. Sticks came back and the lightning bolt society chased her into the trailer. She left and locked the door outside.

"Hey, what happened?" the first asked.

"Time for them to go." Tails replied, throwing a lit match at the propane. The propane exploded and the trailer was sent flying out of there.

"Are you okay?" Amy asked Sonny.

"I'm sure alright." Sonny answered.

"Well, let's head back before those two start worrying about what's going on." Sonic replied.

"My work here is done." Sticks answered. "Got to get back to improve the defenses of my burrow in the case of an economic meltdown and a zombie apocalypse." The four just looked at her in surprise.

They returned to Jules' house and they were outside at the picnic table. There were bowls set down in front of them from the kitchen.

"What is this?" Sonic asked.

"Well, this is supper." Jules answered.

"Uh, okay. I'll go with it." They saw Sonny wolfing it down. Knuckles is slurping the juices.

"This isn't that bad." He said. "What is this exactly?"

"It's Possum stew." Jules replied.

"Uh, excuse me." Knuckles went to the side for a minute to barf up the meal. Tails just scooted his bowl over to Sonny.

"I hope you didn't see that possum off the side of the road." Amy commented. The hedgehog didn't say anything. Then, Sonic's eyes went wide and he looked at the bowl of stew.

"That's it. We're outta here." He stated as the four went back to the tornado.

"Don't you want dessert?" Jules asked.

"No, thanks." Sonic answered and the plane took off from the island.

"It's almost like they're proud of being stupid." Knuckles commented. "No wonder Julain didn't want to rule that island."

"He probably lost some brain cells just setting foot on the island." Tails added.

* * *

Meanwhile on a beach, the lightning bolt society was on top of their big trailer and they had the frightened look on their faces.

"Zeb, Clem," the one in the purple fez said. "We try to take over Bygone Island and we ended up getting a serious case of the crabs." They were surrounded on all sides by big crabs. Then, a light came down on them. "What's going on?" Then, they heard some simultaneous voices.

"MORE PROBING!"


	29. Attack of the Viper

Attack of the Viper

It was a warm and sunny day on West Side Island. Fair Skies over head seemed to create a tranquil and happy scene. Perfect for the island's inhabitants to enjoy a restful day on the beach. But such a calm and serene setting was not to be enjoyed by the small town of Hattoncorners, a village located in the Western Mountain regions of the island.

Normally, the children of this village would be flying their kites as the adults sat at the nearby outdoor café arguing politics and the latest gossip. But today, was a day unlike any other, for this day a great metal flying serpent wreaked havoc on the village and its people.

"Everybody, run. Run for your lives." A panicked beaver mobian cried out before fleeing the smoking wreck of a library. "The serpent of death is upon us." Everybody was running and screaming in a panick, blindly fleeing in every direction before the chaos and carnage all around them. Crushed buildings, burning houses, and demolished factories spread out across the landscape.

The cause was a great snake-like robot that fired missiles and laser blasts at the unsuspecting populace. While hopping and slithering about the countryside destroying every structure it landed upon.

"That's right, little mobians. Flee. Flee before your soon to be ruler." Ix boasted operating the controls of the massive machine. "After I have crushed your village into dust, I will follow suit with every other town, community, and city on West Side Island. Nothing can stop me now, especially not that foolish echidna, Knuckles.

"Knucklehead, doesn't have to stop you this time, Naggy." A voice came from beneath him. "Don't you know Mobius has an even more famous hero?"

"Uh… who are you again?" Ix stated, trying to frustrate him. Suddenly, a blue blur raced around the village rescuing trapped mobians from a burning house, putting out all the fires, saving a baby who had been left in a carriage that started to roll down the hill and ate all the chili dogs in the local deli under three minutes.

"I'm Sonic the Hedgehog, the dude with attitude. And I'm here to clean your clock, dreadhead." Sonic stated waving his finger at him. "And then, I'm going to skin this snake."

"Ah yes, I remember now. Nicholas Parlouzer, son of King Sylvanus, the dark green champion." Ix chuckled. "You are no threat to me, boy. I do not fear the so called 'hero' that took Warlord Julian down."

"King Sylvanus, huh? Thanks. I was wondering what my dad's name was." Sonic smirked as two figures came out of the shadows behind him. "Well, Ix. I'd like you to meet two of my dearest friends, say hello to Amanda Rose and Miles 'Tails' Prowler."

"Hello, Mr. Ix." Amy declared, reaching in and pulling a deck of Tarot cards out. "Do you want me to give you a reading?" She looked at the cards. "Oh look that, I see a smack down in the future."

"Huh? It overgrown centipede doesn't look that tough." Tails added, pulling a wrench and screwdriver out of his belt. "Keep old Ix here busy for about ten minutes, Sonic. I'll have every nut and bolt loosened on this giant tin can.

"Bah, I care not for foolish prophecies nor do I fear losing my nuts." Ix proclaimed. "I do not wish to waste precious time and energy fighting lowly insects such as yourselves, but if you insist on doing battle. Then, get a load of this." Immediately, the flying serpent flew up into the air circling around in a roller coaster loop and firing several missiles at Team Sonic.

"Haha, too slow." Sonic laughed, leaping from missile to missile as if they were video game obstacles.

"Hiya, Hiya." Amy Rose declared, hitting away missile after missile with her hammer. "These things don't scare me."

"A simple problem requires a simple solution." Tails remarked, pulling out a big bulky control device. He pushed a button and the missile exploded against an unseen bubble surrounding the fox. "Force field shields always do the trick, don't you think?"

"Available now," Sonic stated. "Get yours today at the low price 19.91"

"So, you seek to mock me, do you?" Ix declared angrily. "I shall not tolerate such insults coming from the likes of you. So again, I say, get a load of this." The metal snake dove below them burrowing deep into the earth. Suddenly, several explosions rocked the soil beneath their feet sending the three mobians flying high into the air.

"Whoa! Look out!" Sonic exclaimed. "That thing's trying to fry us into chili dogs."

"Sonic, we have to take out the viper's protective bubble." Tails added, examining the machine through his electronic scanner.

"What's the machine's power level?" Amy asked.

"Don't go there." Tails replied in annoyance. "Amy, see if you can get in close to the cockpit and land a blow on the command bubble."

"I'm on it." She answered as the viper emerged from beneath the ground once more.

"I based the design of my beautiful creation on Dr. Eggman's caterkiller badnik." Ix declared. "So, I guess you can call my metal chariot the Egg Viper."

"Not for much longer, loser." Amy announced. The Egg Viper reared its head to face Amy directly and launched two spiked discs directly at her, avoiding the spikes of the first one the pink hedgehog jumped on top of the second spinning disc on its return trip and jumped off to smash the cockpit's glass with her piko piko hammer. "YAHBOOM!"

"Fools, you only cracked the glass." Ix snapped, shaking the pink hedgehog off. "Foolish little hedgehogs from South Island are no match for echidna superiority."

"Oh yeah? Well, let's see how you outfox a fox?" Tails replied, flying loops around the Egg Viper.

"HEY! Hold still you, little runt." Ix shouted, shooting the viper's head cannons at Tails. "Stop flying in circles so I may blast you."

"Not in this life time, Iky." Tails mocked him, pointing a strange looking gun at the cracked cockpit and shooting a dart at the center of the crack.

"This that all you got child?" The emperor mocked him. "A puny little dart."

"No, I'm just exploiting a pressure point." Tails remarked flying away from the cockpit. "Shattered cockpit glass in 3… 2… 1." CRASH! The glass flew apart leaving an exposed Ix sitting in the chair. Tails tried to attack the cockpit directly towards the emperor; Ix pushed some buttons and the tail of the viper smacked the young fox to the side. Miles slammed right into one of the building's walls with a stone ledge.

"Why you little impudent little slugs!" Ix slammed his fist into the control panel. "I didn't want to have to do this. But you leave me no choice." The snake quickly swept around Amy and Tails capturing them in its coils and tightening its grip.

"Hey, let us go!" Amy screamed.

"Sonic… Help!" Tails gurgled. "It's crushing the life out of me."

"Hey, put my friends down this instant." Sonic warned. "Or trust me, you'll be really really sorry."

"Oh, I'll happily put them down and I'll destroy this village at the same time." Ix laughed. "So, what's it going to be hedgehog? Save your friends or save the village?" Flying out over the peak, Ix turned back. "Now, choose." He released them before swinging the viper's tail forwards aiming the cannon straight at what was left of the town. "FULL POWER!"

"NOO!" Sonic screamed, curling up into a morphball. Sonic spindashed straight at the Egg Viper smashing into the red glowing beacons on its tail. Sonic literally hopped up the tail and smashed directly into the Egg Viper's pilot.

"BLAST YOU, SONIC!" Ix declared as the Egg Viper tumbled into the abyss surrounded by explosions. Sonic dove into the crevase following his friends into the darkness below.

"Hang on, guys. I'm coming." The blue blur said as he disappeared.

"Hahaha, I did it." Ix declared hanging onto a branch sticking out from the Cliffside. "I got rid of Team Sonic." Reaching to the rocks above him, the emperor slowly began to climb back up the cliff face. "Now, there will be no one who can stop my conquest of Mobius. Chaos shall consume this world and from upon the ashes, I shall create a new one."


	30. Open Your Heart

Open Your Heart

Sometime later; Knuckles, Bunny, and Shade headed out in the Tornado to face against the army of Imperator Ix. It was a rather hot day. They found an abandoned oil platform out in the middle of the ocean. As Shade landed the Tornado behind some of the buildings on the dock, they saw that many echidnas are outside on the platform with Imperator Ix at the head of the group.

"Now is the time my loyal followers, today is the day we shall bring our great civilization to all the world." Imperator Ix stated. "We will smite all those who defy my divine will." All of the soldiers prostrated themselves towards the echidna warlord as they cheered.

"Hail to Imperator Ix, he will lead us to out foes and they shall fall before us." The echidnas shouted. Then, the echidna warlord held up the last chaos emerald.

"Oh no, we need to get that chaos emerald out of his hands." Knuckles stated to the other two.

"What do we do?" Bunny asked. Stacey tapped on her shoulder.

"At least we brought these along." She said holding up to sets of Nocturnus Clan armor pieces.

"That'll work." Bunny replied as they put of the disguise.

"I shall allow you one last hour's rest before we attack." The Imperator proclaimed to them. "You are now dismissed." Then, the Nocturnus clan members started to leave the area.

"Now's our chance." Knuckles answered; the three of them snuck into the crowd and blended into the area. Ix went to his personal area of the platform, it was at the edge of a pool where Chaos was residing in.

"It'll soon be time, my pet." The Imperator said. Chaos' tail tried to reach for the emerald. "You're being impatient, but soon you'll have what you want."

"It's over Ix." Knuckles stated, still in his Nocturnus armor. The warlord turned around.

"Oh, so you three have come to join us for the celebration?" Imperator Ix asked.

"The only celebration is when we take you down." Bunny answered.

"I would love to see you try." Ix answered.

"How dare you lead the Nocturnus clan to believe that you are a deity!?" Shade stated. "You think you are such but you're not."

"You blasphemer!" The emperor snapped. "I AM A GOD! You can't tell me that there is something I don't know. I know what is best for the Nocturnus. I know what is best for the world." He paused. "But I will spare you, shall you bow down to me as your divine ruler."

"Forget it, Imperator Ix." Knuckles stated.

"If that is how you want to put it." Ix answered. "Then, I will take you down myself. Prepare to be eliminated, you worthless infidels." Using his magic, he blew the helmets off of the three intruders.

Knuckles went up and punched towards him. Ix put up a shield blocking his attacks and countered with an energy blast from the two packs he had. Bunny got Knuckles out of the way. Shade pulled out her wrist blades and slashed down on the shield of Imperator Ix. It made a big hole in the shield. Bunny lunged forwards and did a swift kick onto the echidna, smashing one of the packs.

"Is that all you got?" The warlord asked.

"Nope, we're just getting warmed up." Knuckles replied with a grin on his face. Ix did an energy beam towards the three of them and the three ended up getting knocked back from the blast. They were able to get back up from their injury. Shade headed forward with her wrist blades. Imperator Ix blocked it.

"Hahaha. You still defy me like your sister, now you will die like your sister." Ix commented as she continued to slash towards him.

"I won't let that happen." Knuckles said as he attacked Ix's flank. The Imperator looked and saw Knuckles heading towards him. The red echidna did an uppercut to smash the other energy pack, followed by another jab throwing him back. He ended up dropping the emerald and it landed on the ground near the pool.

"SHADE! GET THE EMERALD!" Bunny shouted. Stacey Shade ran as quickly as she could towards the emerald, but Chaos' tail lashed out of the water. It grabbed the emerald before Shade could reach it and pulled it into the pool.

"Houston, we have a problem." Knuckles said. Then, all of them heard thunder from outside. Then, it started to get darker. The others looked out and saw that the sky was covered completely with dark clouds and the winds began to howl.

"He has finally reached ultimate power." Imperator Ix answered. "He has become Perfect Chaos." Then, the chao smashed through the steel walls, leaving the chaos emerald behind, and entered into the ocean. It rose out of the water to face the platform. "At last, I have the ultimate power." He turned to him. "Perfect Chaos, destroy these fools."

But the chao started to attack the Nocturnus Clan's army. "NOT MY ARMY, YOU IDIOT!" Ix yelled out in anger. "AS YOUR LORD AND MASTER, I COMMAND YOU TO -." Perfect Chaos blasted his energy mouth beam at him. "AAAAAGGGGGHHHH!" Then, the emperor was vaporized from the attack. Chaos turned to the other echidnas following him and destroying him.

"Grab the chaos emeralds and let's get out of here." Bunny said. Then, Tikal appeared before them.

"Tikal, what are you doing here?" Knuckles asked.

"We need to stop him now." Tikal said in worry. "He'll destroy many cities if he isn't stopped; he has to be sealed away in the Master Emerald."

"What'll that do?" Knuckles asked in return. "Another one will come along, foolishly break it, and the cycle will repeat itself all over again. We need an alternate plan." Shade checked the chaos emeralds.

"Besides, I saw the last two shards of the master emerald with him. So, it can't be done anyway." Bunny replied.

"Wait a minute," Shade said. "There is still some energy in the chaos emeralds. It might be a long shot, but I think if we go super we could take down Perfect Chaos."

"That sounds like a plan." Knuckles stated.

"I'll go with you." Bunny answered.

"Very well, then. I wish you luck." Tikal continued.

"Where'd Chaos go?" Stacey Shade asked as she was looking around.

 _"The National Weather Service has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Station Square until 3:00 PM. At 2:30 PM, the National Weather Service has picked up a… Wait, WHAT!? Attention! Station Square is now under a hurricane warning. This cyclone is expected to be a category five hurricane with record breaking winds up to 250 miles per hour. It's uncertain whether this should be considered a hypercane. Regardless of what it is, evacuation orders have been issued for this area and the storm is expected to arrive in 10-15 minutes."_

Hurricane Chaos had hit the city straight on around that time. The water surge caused the storm sewers to back up and it shot the manhole covers off the road from the pressure. The streets got flooded with at least 10 feet of water. Occasionally, water spouts could be since in some places. Everything got pelted with rain and hail. Thunder and lightning struck across the sky. The winds shattered the glass windows on the skyscrapers and totaled all non-steel or concrete structures.

The plane with Bunny Rabbot and Kunckles had arrived on the scene as it was navigating the stormy skies. They had the seven chaos emeralds in hand.

"Well, this is it Bunny." The echidna answered. "It's now or never."

"We need to be careful, you hear?" Bunny asked.

"I hear ya." Knuckles replied as he turned to the pilot. "Shade, take us down."

"Roger." Stacey said as she got the Tornado close to the water's surface. The chaos emeralds whirled around the red echidna and the rabbit. Faster and faster they went until the two became Hyper Knuckles and Hyper Bunny. She noticed that in this state, her robotisized limbs were completely flesh again.

"Wow, that's incredible." She commented.

"We can deal with that later." Knuckles stated. "Right now, let's take on that overgrown watering can."

"Right behind y'all." Bunny replied as the two jumped off the plane and onto a broken bridge. Perfect Chaos faced them and roared. He launched a lightning bolt towards them and the two mobians dodged the projectile as they rushed towards the angry chao. Knuckles was able to land a blow onto the target. He roared as he sunk into the waters, reemerging farther way with a more clear shot towards the two characters.

"He's positioned himself upwind." Bunny replied. "We need to be careful." He continued to shoot lightning towards the duo, but using more power than he did before. Knuckles and Bunny were barely able to dodge the lightning. "That was a close one, any closer and I would have been barbeque hare." Bunny was able to get a kick on the chao. It rose above them and used its tentacles to create water spouts to attack the two. The small tornadoes hit the duo and tossed them about before throwing them into a building.

"Ow."

"Oof."

The two flew out of the building and held hands as the water spout picked them up again. The two used the spinning whirlwinds to launch Bunny into Chaos and she landed a powerful kick at the beast. Perfect Chaos landed into the water again and reappeared nearby.

"Where are those master emerald shards?" Bunny asked. Knuckles looked around the areas on chaos and then pointed.

"There they are." The echidna pointed out. "They are in the head of the chao. We just need a good shot." Then, Chaos sent out the powerful beam from its mouth towards the two mobians. They were able to get out of the way. The two mobians skied over the surface of the water as he continued to blast towards them. Knuckles shot himself upwards but was too low. He went right through the chest, Chaos roared with pain and anger, melting into the water.

He repositioned himself in a skyscraper with his head sticking out high above the ground. Knuckles and Bunny surfed on the surface as Chaos pelted rain, hail, lightning, tornados, and his deadly mouth beam towards them.

"KNUCKIE, KEEP GOING!" Bunny shouted as she guided Knuckles from the strikes of lightning that was coming down upon them. "DON'T LOOK BACK!"

"I CAN SAY THE SAME THING, BUNNY!" Knuckles replied as he shielded Bunny by punching through the large hailstones. The two had reached the base of the building and started to fly upwards.

Chaos flung his tentacles towards them to block their attempt at a strike. They had a very difficult time dodging the appendages, but they reached the head. They struck through each of the two grabbing a master emerald shard. Perfect Chaos screamed as he burst into many droplets of water. When this happened, the hurricane gradually came to a stop. The heavy winds calmed down, the waves stopped crashing, and the rain and thunder had receded.

Knuckles and Bunny returned to their normal selves as they landed on a broken piece of a highway bridge. Bunny was disappointed that some of her limbs became robotisized again.

"Wow, being super takes a lot out of you." Bunny stated.

"At least, we don't have to do it that often." Knuckles answered. "Hmm?" They saw the Tornado land behind them and Shade got out of the pilot's seat.

"Knuckles, Bunny, I'm glad you're safe." Stacey Shade said to them.

"Same here." Knuckles answered.

"But what happened to Chaos?" She asked. "Hmm? What's that?" She pointed to another piece of bridge below them. The three noticed that Chaos was there. He was now mobian sized once again as Chaos 0; as the chao got up, there were other chao going to him. They helped him back up onto his feet and he patted their heads.

"Chaos changed again." Knuckles said. "This time for the better."

"We all must have neutralized it, so it's docile again." Bunny added.

"These were the chao whom you seeked to protect." A voice said to him. Then, Tikal appeared before him. "Even though you were saddened by tragedy, we will be there to comfort you when you need it." She paused. "The war is finally over and peace has returned to us." Then, she looked up to the three of the heroes. "I thank you so much. Now, I can finally rest peacefully."

Then, she started to float into the air and she closed her eyes. They noticed that she turned into a ball of light and disappeared into an opening in the clouds; they also noticed in the distance many balls of light rising in the distance from the Mystic Ruins all of whom followed Tikal.

"I'm not sure what that means, but I'm pretty sure that those echidnas can rest too." Bunny stated. Then, she turned to Knuckles. "Knuckie, you did it."

"No Bunny, we did it. This is our victory." He answered.

"But what is the fate of the Nocturnus Clan?" Stacey asked.

"Those whom are followers of Ix will be cast back into the Special Zone." Knuckles said. "Those whom were rejected can stay on Mobius. From these echidnas, they can reside on Angel Island with Nestor the Wise leading them."

"Why not have you be the leader?" She asked him in confusion.

"Because I have a duty of my own. I am to be the future guardian of the Master Emerald." The champion of echidnas said. "And with Bunny at my side, we will never let a tragedy like that from decades ago happen again."

"Ah shucks, Knux." Bunny answered, she kissed the red echidna on the cheek. And he became even redder.

"I… uh… I… uh… Der." Thus Knuckles' request was carried out and the Master Emerald was once again fully restored. Nestor the Wise went back into the special zone and called the Nocturnus Clan to abandon the cult of Ix. About a hundred Nocturnus echidnas followed him out of the special zone before the gate to the Void was closed. Doctor Warpnik was enraged as he saw this happen.

"NO FAIR! NO FAIR! NO FAIR! NO FAIR!" Warpnik screamed. "THERE'S NO WAY I GET A GAME OVER! AAAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!" His super-extreme temper tantrum spilled over into the section where the rest of the echidnas whom didn't follow Nestor remained.

* * *

Meanwhile, back on Angel Island, relic yawned as she was getting out of her cot in the tent she was in. Then, she heard quite some noise coming from outside.

"What's all the racket?" The blue pika asked herself. She got dressed and went outside of the tent. She gasped as she saw a number of echidnas attempting to rebuild. "What in the…?" She wandered through the group and spotted the red echidna. "Knuckles, what's going on here? There are so many echidnas."

"Well, this small clan is now going to reside on Angel Island." Knuckles replied to her.

"Am I dreaming or something?" She asked.

"You're wide awake, Relic." The red echidna remarked to her.

"I can't believe this is actually happening." Relic said holding her head and crossing her eyes for a moment.

"Speaking of which, there is someone who I would like you to meet." Knuckles added, holding her hand to guide her. Then, they had come to the older echidna. "Relic, I would like you to meet Nestor the Wise."

"N-N-Nestor the Wise?" She asked, her glasses starting to fall out of place. Then, she cleaned her lenses and put them back in place.

"So, you are correct." Nestor replied to her. "You must be Relic the Pika. I have heard about you from Knuckles. You are a lot more eager than I expected. Would you like to become my apprentice?" Relic was unable to speak, but she let out an ecstatic fangirl squee. Then, the blue pika fainted with a smile on her face. "I… guess I'll take that as a 'yes'?

"Agreed." Knuckles added.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the village that the Egg Viper had attacked. The survivors were picking up the pieces while a few stared down into the abyss.

"Sonic the Hedgehog was a brave warrior. He and his friends saved our lives." The village elder declared, taking his hat off in respect. "It is only a pity that in saving our lives, he and his friends lost their own."

"Hey guys, what's all the mopping about?" Sonic asked as he came climbing up over the edge of the cliff with Tails and Amy on his back. "We've got a town to rebuild here and a chili dog celebration after that. Would someone mind giving me a hand up here?" Cheering, four of the villagers ran to help their hero back up to solid ground.

* * *

An obsidian-colored comet was flying through the empty vastness of space. At that moment, a dark figure was huddled around an orb, inside was Mobius.

"For many years, I had let this planet go." The figure stated aloud. "Many of my enemies had fought me, and many of those enemies I have conquered." He paused for a moment. "Now, I can strike at this planet and claim it and its chaos crystal as my own." Then, he turned away and telepathically echoed throughout the comet. "Black Arms, set a course for Mobius. Prepare the armies of our two great generals. Our invasion of that planet will be our greatest campaign yet." He toned down. "Once completed, we will be unstoppable."


End file.
